Turkiye’s prime diplomat mentioned his nation has ‘fully’ minimize off commerce with Israel over its ongoing genocide.
Revealed On 29 Aug 2025
Turkish International Minister Hakan Fidan mentioned his nation has fully severed financial and commerce ties with Israel and has closed its airspace to its plane, in protest over the struggle in Gaza.
Talking at a rare session of the Turkish parliament on Gaza on Friday, Fidan mentioned Israel has been “committing genocide in Gaza for the previous two years, ignoring fundamental humanitarian values proper earlier than the world’s eyes”.
Turkiye minimize off direct commerce ties with Israel in Could final yr, demanding a everlasting ceasefire and the instant entry of humanitarian help to Gaza. In 2023, the 2 international locations carried out $7bn in commerce.
Ankara has not minced its phrases about Israel’s struggle on Gaza, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan calling it a genocide – like many different world leaders and main human rights organistions – and likening Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the chief of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler.
“We have now fully minimize off our commerce with Israel. We don’t permit Turkish ships to go to Israeli ports. We don’t permit their planes to enter our airspace,” Fidan mentioned.
The Turkish overseas minister’s condemnation comes amid years of more and more tense relations between the 2 international locations, mentioned Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar.
“It’s not solely concerning the humanitarian disaster that’s unfolding in Gaza; Turkiye regularly is perceiving Israel as a nationwide safety risk,” Serdar defined, noting that Israel’s expansionism and assaults throughout the broader Center East have been trigger for concern.
In Syria notably, Ankara has accused Israel of wilfully undermining the nation’s restoration efforts after the devastation of a 14-year civil struggle and the removing of longtime chief Bashar al-Assad final December by a lightning insurgent offensive.
“Diplomats in Ankara are seeing that if Israel will not be stopped, ultimately there may be a direct army confrontation between these two international locations,” he mentioned.
Serdar added that the Turkish overseas minister’s feedback additionally present that Turkiye is seeking to the International South and different powers to take motion, amid the US’ and European Union’s largely unwavering help for Israel.
Turkish media reported final week {that a} ban on maritime site visitors linked to Israel had been imposed, though there was no official assertion. In line with stories, Israeli vessels had been banned from docking in Turkiye, and Turkish-flagged ships weren’t allowed to enter Israeli ports.
‘Like pariahs’
In the meantime, Turkiye’s newest transfer is making “increasingly Israelis really feel the disadvantages of this sort of struggle that has no deadline”, mentioned Akiva Eldar, an Israeli political analyst.
“Turkiye is not only one other nation that’s deciding to chop its relationship with Israel. Turkiye has been an ally of Israel for a few years, a vital market to Israeli items,” Eldar informed Al Jazeera, talking from Kiryat Shmona, including that it was additionally a favorite summer time vacation spot for a lot of Israelis.
“We really feel increasingly … Israelis are feeling remoted and [like] pariahs. Increasingly international locations and corporations have determined to cease their enterprise with Israel.”
Final November, Turkish authorities denied permission for Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s airplane to enter Turkiye’s airspace for a visit to a world summit in Azerbaijan.
“As Turkiye, we now have to take a stance on sure points,” Erdogan later mentioned when requested concerning the incident.
Israel and Turkiye’s relationship had soured way back to 2010, following Israel’s lethal assault on a Gaza-bound help flotilla, which killed 10 Turkish residents.
Extra not too long ago, a Turkish-American activist, Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, was killed by Israeli forces throughout a protest within the occupied West Financial institution in September 2024.
