Türkiye on Monday refuted claims over alleged trade with Israel, reiterating that Ankara has entirely suspended all export and import with Israel as of May this year.
“The claim in some media outlets and shared on social media that ‘Türkiye’s trade with Israel continues’ is false,” the Center for Combating Disinformation of Presidential Directorate of Communications said.
“As of May 2, 2024, Türkiye has entirely suspended all export and import with Israel, encompassing all products,” it said in a post on X.
It further said that since this date, no customs declarations have been registered for exports and imports with Israel.
“The claim in the aforementioned posts that ‘According to Turkish Statistical Institute’s data, it has been found that trade is still ongoing with 624, Israel’s foreign trade code,’ is also entirely unfounded,” the statement read.
“Following the analysis of the Turkish Statistical Institute’s data, it is evident that the data in question pertains to trade data until May 2024 and that there is no trade with Israel thereafter.”
Trade Minister Ömer Bolat recently also vehemently denied any ongoing trade activities with Israel, stressing that Ankara had halted all trade since May. He reiterated that the suspension would continue until Israel agreed to a permanent cease-fire and allowed unrestricted humanitarian aid into Gaza.
However, Türkiye continues to allow trade with the Palestinian Authority in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip under a mutual agreement, provided that the Palestinian authorities confirm that the goods are intended for Palestinian territories and are exported by Palestinians. Bolat emphasized that Türkiye’s trade with these areas is documented and aligns with supporting the Palestinian people.
Communications Directorate went on Monday to clarify that “since trade between Israel and Türkiye has been entirely suspended, as of May 2, all foreign trade transactions to Palestine are conducted using the code number granted to the State of Palestine.”
“Before May, even if the goods were bound for Palestine, the importer was regarded to be the State of Israel since they arrived via Israeli ports; however, after May, it has been obligatory to include the Palestinian country code in declarations,” it said.
It also noted that since the State of Palestine lacks an operational port on the Mediterranean coastline, all exports to the country are routed via Israeli ports.
“However, for exports to Palestine, goods can only be exported after receiving approval from the Palestinian Ministry of National Economy before being transported by ship,” it added.
Answering on what happens if containers are prevented from entering the country, it said: “Preventing containers from entering the country implies that goods from other companies with no ties to Israel are also prohibited from entering Türkiye.”
“This would have a detrimental impact on Türkiye’s foreign trade but no effect on Israel’s trade.”
Pointing to the question of why Israeli sources indicate that the trade with Türkiye continues, the center further said: “Israel considers all foreign trade statistics related to Palestine to be its own, and therefore Israeli records give the impression that trade with Türkiye continues. This was also stated by the Palestinian Minister of National Economy, Mohammed al-Amour.”
Besides suspending trade with Israel, Turkish officials have been calling on all countries to impose an arms embargo on Israel.
Flouting a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire, Israel has continued a brutal offensive on Gaza following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, last October.
The onslaught has killed over 43,000 people and rendered the enclave almost uninhabitable.
Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for its actions in the blockaded enclave.
