Less than a week after "Globes" reported the restrictions imposed by Turkey on exports to Israel, with no official announcement, Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan declared yesterday that his country had decided to take steps against Israel because Israel’s decision not to allow Turkey to drop humanitarian aid for the Gaza Strip by parachute.
"For the first time in history the whole world is condemning Israel," said Fidan. "Today we were informed that Israel has refused our request to parachute aid into the Gaza Strip. President Tayyip Erdogan has approved new steps that we shall announce shortly. They will continue until Israel declares a ceasefire and allows aid to enter the Gaza Strip unhindered."
The Turkish Ministry of Trade has now announced a list of 54 items barred for export to Israel. Among them are marble, cement, steel, and aluminum.
For a week and a half the Turkish government has been delaying or not approving the export of consignments from Turkey to Israel. Agents working with Israeli importers say that the source of the delays is the government, and that it is not known how long the situation will continue. "Globes" has learned that it is not possible at present to pay export duties on consignments from Turkey to Israel. The Turkish computer system presents an error with no possibility of progressing with the declaration only for exports to Israel.
"Globes" also revealed that Turkish Airlines, which until October 7 operated ten flights daily on the Tel Aviv-Istanbul route, had decided not to return to Israel until March 2025.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on April 9, 2024.
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