Turkey moves to suspend all trade with Israel over war on Gaza: Report
Iran Press TV
Thursday, 02 May 2024 7:21 PM
Turkey has reportedly stopped all trade with Israel in the wake of months-long incessant military campaign against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.
Bloomberg reported on Thursday that Turkey had stopped all exports and imports to and from Israel, citing two Turkish officials.
Turkey recently imposed restrictions on exchanges with Israel over the regime's refusal to allow Ankara to take part in aid air-drop operations for Gaza.
The country imposed trade restrictions on 54 product groups in April, a move widely believed to be in response to growing public pressure for the suspension of trade ties with Israel amid the rising humanitarian toll in Gaza.
President Tayyip Erdogan back then said 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.
Erdogan in recent months has repeatedly criticized Israel's conduct in the war on Gaza, which has killed thousands of Palestinians.
The Turkish leader has said that new tensions could be expected in the region until the "oppression and genocide" in Gaza ends.
The president has also warned Israel of a "heavy price" if the Tel Aviv regime carries out its alleged plot to target members of the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Turkish soil.
Turkish leader recently hosted Hamas's political leader in Istanbul on April 20, calling for immediate aid to Gaza.
Israel and Turkey restored diplomatic ties last August after a decade of tensions. The Israeli aggression has triggered a popular public backlash across the Muslim world and even in the US.
The latest move came a day after Turkey announced plans to join South Africa's case at the International Court of Justice as a plaintiff accusing Israel of committing genocide in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Senior Israeli officials have held emergency meetings in Tel Aviv this week to discuss the possibility that the International Criminal Court (ICC) could also issue arrest warrants for prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Turkish leader denounces US for crackdown on US university students
Erdogan in remarks on Thursday also strongly criticized Heavily-handed tactics to curb US college campus protests, saying authorities were displaying "cruelty" in clamping down on pro-Palestinian students and academics.
"Conscientious students and academics including anti-Zionist Jews at some prestigious American universities are protesting the massacre (in Gaza)," Erdogan told an event in Ankara.
"These people are being subjected to violence, cruelty, suffering, and even torture for saying the massacre has to stop," he said, adding that university staff were being "sacked and lynched" for supporting the Palestinians.
Demonstrations have spread on campuses across the United States over Israel's conduct of the war in Gaza.
Student-organized pro-Palestinian rallies and encampments, which began at Columbia University in New York City on 17 April, have spread to more than two dozen states and several other countries.
Protesters have demanded that academic institutions financially boycott Israel and companies.
US police have stormed several colleges and arrest more students as unrest over Israel's onslaught against Palestinians in Gaza simmers on campuses.
"The limits of Western democracy are drawn by Israel's interests," Erdogan said. "Whatever infringes on Israel's interests is anti-democratic, antisemitic for them."
Turkey has sharply criticized Israel's onslaught on Gaza and what it calls the unconditional support the Tel Aviv regime receives from Western countries.
The US is a top supplier of military aid to Israel and has shielded Israel from critical United Nations votes.
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