Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan accuses Israel of committing ‘genocide’ in Gaza. The top diplomat said his country has ‘completely’ cut off trade with Israel over its ongoing genocide.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said his country has completely severed economic and trade ties with Israel and closed its airspace to Israeli aircraft, in protest over the war in Gaza.
“We have completely cut off our trade with Israel. We do not allow Turkish ships to go to Israeli ports. We do not allow their planes to enter our airspace,” Fidan told an extraordinary session of the Turkish parliament on Friday.
Fidan accused Israel of atrocities in Gaza, describing the situation as “one of the darkest chapters in human history.” “Israel has for two years been committing the crime of genocide in Gaza, disregarding basic human values before the eyes of the world,” he said.
Resistance and displacement
Fidan praised Palestinian resistance as a struggle that would “alter the course of history, become a symbol for the oppressed, and shake the foundations of a decaying order.”
Rejecting any proposals for the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, he stressed: “Regardless of who proposes it, such a plan is invalid for us.” The minister also condemned Israeli strikes in Lebanon, Yemen, Syria, and Iran, calling them “the clearest indication of a terrorist state mentality that openly defies the international order.”
Trade ties under strain
Türkiye and Israel have shared a free-trade agreement since 1997, with bilateral trade worth $6.8bn in 2023. According to official data, more than 75 percent of that trade was made up of Turkish exports, including steel, oil, and plastic. Relations between the two countries have been strained for more than a decade, beginning with Israel’s 2010 raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla that killed 10 Turkish citizens.
Last November, Türkiye blocked Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s plane from entering its airspace for a summit in Azerbaijan.
Tensions deepened further in September 2024, when Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi was killed by Israeli forces during a protest in the occupied West Bank.
Growing isolation for Israel
Israeli political analyst Akiva Eldar said Türkiye’s decision has a significant impact.
“Turkiye is not just another country that is deciding to cut its relationship with Israel. Turkiye has been an ally of Israel for many years, a very important market for Israeli goods,” Eldar told Al Jazeera, adding that it was also a favourite summer destination for many Israelis.
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