Israel has said that Türkiye, under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has imposed diplomatic and economic measures against Tel Aviv over its war on Gaza.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Monday that Türkiye’s position towards Israel has gone beyond rhetoric.
“Türkiye, led by Erdogan, led a hostile approach against Israel,” including “not only hostile statements, but also diplomatic and economic measures,” Saar told a joint press conference in Budapest with his Hungarian counterpart, Peter Szijjarto, as cited by The Times of Israel news site.
Turkish President Erdogan has strongly denounced Israel’s Gaza genocide, where over 68,500 people have been killed since October 2023, and called for Muslim unity against Israel.
The president said in September that Türkiye’s concerns stretched beyond its borders, stressing solidarity with conflict-stricken Muslim nations.
“Half of our heart is here; the other half is in Gaza, Palestine, Yemen and Sudan, where the Muslim world’s wounds are bleeding,” he said.
On May 2, 2024, Türkiye completely halted all export, import, and transit trade operations with Israel across all product categories, ending all commercial activity, including customs and free-zone transactions, between the two countries.
Strongest response to Israel
In September, Erdogan lambasted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for Israel's attack on the Hamas negotiation team in Qatar, saying, "Ideologically, Netanyahu is like a relative of Hitler."
“Just as Hitler could not foresee the defeat that awaited him, Netanyahu will face the same ultimate fate,” he said.
Erdogan also said that plans to “trap our region in instability” will fail and that “imperialist and Zionist bloodshed perpetrators” will not be able to achieve their goals.
“The strongest response to this 23-month-long genocide witnessed by all humanity has come again from Türkiye and its nation,” Erdogan said.
Erdogan also delivered a fiery speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September, accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza and calling on the international community to act urgently to end the bloodshed.
Trump hails Erdogan
The Israeli war came to a halt when a ceasefire agreement took effect on October 10, under US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan.
Trump thanked his Turkish counterpart, Erdogan, for his help in brokering a ceasefire in Gaza.
"This gentleman from a place called Türkiye has one of the most powerful armies, actually, in the world. It's much more powerful than he even lets known," Trump said during the Gaza truce signing ceremony in Sharm el-Sheikh.
Türkiye reaffirmed its full suspension of trade with Israel in August, with the foreign minister announcing that Turkish ships will no longer be allowed to dock at Israeli ports and Israeli aircraft will be denied access to Turkish airspace.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also said Palestinians’ resistance against Israel would “alter the course of history, become a symbol for the oppressed, and shake the foundations of a decaying order.”
