Turkey halts trade with Israel until Gaza ceasefire
Turkey said on Friday it will not resume trade with Israel, worth US$7 billion a year, until a permanent ceasefire and humanitarian aid are secured in Gaza, becoming the first of Israel's key commercial partners to take such a step. Israel's "uncompromising attitude" and the worsening situation in Gaza's Rafah region, a refuge for displaced people that Israel has threatened to storm - prompted Ankara to halt all exports and imports, Trade Minister Omer Bolat said. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz criticised Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's move, enacted late on Thursday, saying it breaks international trade agreements and was "how a dictator behaves". The militant group Hamas, which rules Gaza, praised the decision as brave and supportive of Palestinian rights. Last month, Turkey curbed exports of steel, fertiliser and jet fuel among 54 product categories over what it said was Israel's refusal to allow Ankara to take part in aid air-drop operations for Gaza. The new ban covers all remaining trade, amounting to US$5.4 billion in Turkish exports - or nearly 6 percent of all of Israel's imports - and US$1.6 billion in imports to Turkey last year. Top Turkish exports to Israel are steel, vehicles, plastics, electrical devices and machinery, while imports are dominated by fuels at US$634 million last year, Turkish trade data show. Turkey has denounced Israel's military campaign in Gaza, sent thousands of tons of aid for Gazans and, this week, said it would join South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Israel denies committing acts of genocide in Gaza or violating humanitarian law there. (Reuters)