'Acting like a dictator’: Israel slams Erdoğan after Turkey halts all trade over war in Gaza

Turkey has cut off all commercial ties with Israel amid escalating tensions due to the ongoing conflict in Gaza, according to reports from Bloomberg.

Israel’s foreign minister Israel Katz said on Thursday that Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was breaking agreements by blocking ports for Israeli imports and exports.

“This is how a dictator behaves, disregarding the interests of the Turkish people and businessmen, and ignoring international trade agreements,” Foreign Minister posted on X.

Katz said he instructed the foreign ministry to work to create alternatives for trade with Turkey, focusing on local production and imports from other countries.

The two countries had a trade volume of $6.8 billion in 2023.

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The escalating tensions between the two previously close allies are likely to deepen, particularly since the onset of the crisis in Gaza. Following the killing of an estimated 1,136 Israeli citizens and the taking of around 250 people hostage by Hamas terrorists on October 7, Israel has responded by deploying soldiers into Gaza and conducting airstrikes, resulting in the deaths of more than 34,000 individuals, as reported by the Hamas-run health ministry.

Turkey and Israel announced trade barriers on each other Tuesday as relations deteriorated further amid the war in Gaza.

Turkey, a staunch critic of Israel’s military actions in the territory, last month restricted exports of 54 types of products to Israel with immediate effect. They include aluminum, steel, construction products, jet fuel and chemical fertilizers. In response, Israel said it was preparing a ban on products from Turkey. This move comes amid a deteriorating relationship between the two countries, which had a trade volume of $6.8 billion in 2023.

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Asked about Turkey’s ongoing trade with Israel despite the harsh rhetoric from Ankara, President Tayyip Erdogan said last month that Turkey no longer continued “intense trade” with Israel, adding “that is done”. He did not indicate Ankara had cut off all trade with Israel, however.

Turkey and Israel had normalized ties by appointing ambassadors to their respective countries in 2022, following years of tensions. Since January, Turkish authorities have detained dozens of people, including private detectives, on suspicion of spying for Israel, mostly on Palestinians living in Turkey.

With inputs from agencies.