Colombia, located in South America, also cuts diplomatic relations with Israel due to the situation in Gaza.
Turkey cuts trade with Israel due to the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
The issue was reported by, among others, the British Broadcasting Corporation BBC and a British magazine The Guardian.
Turkey’s trade ministry announced Thursday that trade with Israel will remain frozen until Israel allows an “uninterrupted and sufficient” flow of aid and a permanent cease-fire in Gaza. According to the ministry, the suspension applies to all products.
Turkey is a key trade partner
Turkey is the first of Israel’s key trading partners to freeze exports and imports to the country because of its military operations.
The value of trade between Turkey and Israel last year was a good six billion euros.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz responded by saying that the president of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan behaves like a dictator.
– Dictators behave like this, few care about the interests of Turkish citizens and entrepreneurs and refer with a glove to international trade agreements, Katz writes in community service X.
Katz also says that he has instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to map out alternatives for trade with Turkey.
Turkey started restricting trade with Israel already at the beginning of April, when it suspended the export of iron and steel products and construction equipment to Israel.
Turkey has strongly criticized Israel for the military operations in Gaza, in which, according to the local health ministry, more than 34,000 Palestinians have already died. Published in March, supported by the UN the report over a million Gazans are at risk of imminent starvation due to Israel’s actions.
Turkey has also criticized Western countries for their support for Israel.
In the video below, Erdoğan criticizes the police’s use of force against protesters opposing Israel’s military actions on college campuses across the United States:
Israel has responded to Turkey’s criticism by pointing out, for example, Turkey’s suppression of press freedom and human rights violations against the Kurds.
Turkey’s recent decision will strain relations between it and Israel even more.
Israel and Turkey have been close allies in the past. In 1949, Turkey was the first Muslim-majority country to recognize the state of Israel.
However, in 2010, Turkey severed diplomatic relations with Israel after Israeli forces killed ten Turkish activists who had tried to break Israel’s sea blockade around Gaza.
Diplomatic relations were restored six years later, but Israel’s use of force in Gaza has strained relations between the two countries even after that.
Colombia cuts diplomatic ties
Colombia, located in South America, is in the process of severing diplomatic relations with Israel.
President Gustavo Petro announced the matter in connection with the May Day labor march and said the Israeli leadership was aiming for genocide in Gaza.
– I believe that all of humanity, on the streets and in millions, agrees with us and we agree with them. The age of genocide, the destruction of an entire nation, cannot return before our passive eyes. If Palestine dies, humanity dies, says Petro.
Colombia is the most populous country to have cut ties with Israel. Bolivia in South America and Belize in Central America have done this before.
For decades, Colombia has depended on the arms trade with Israel to fight left-wing guerrilla groups until the 2016 peace agreement, The Washington Post write.
Netanyahu is afraid of falling into the same camp as Putin
Israel has so far been defiant about the criticism it has received, but behind the scenes it fears being isolated in the international community.
According to media reports, Israel’s leadership is worried about a possible arrest warrant that the International Criminal Court (ICC) could issue for the key implementers of Israel’s military operations. The list would possibly include at least the prime minister Benjamin NetanyahuMinister of Defense Yoav Gallant as well as the commander-in-chief of the army Herl Halevi.
The ICC has been investigating Israel’s actions in the occupied Palestinian territories for the past three years. Last October, the investigation expanded to include Hamas’ attack on Israel and Israel’s attack on Gaza.
The Hague-based ICC has the authority to charge and try individuals for the most serious crimes, such as war crimes. It has previously issued an arrest warrant for, for example, the president of Russia About Vladimir Putin and the Libyan dictator About Muammar Gaddafi.
The ICC has never before issued an arrest warrant for the leader of a country considered a Western-style democracy. Netanyahu would be the first in this case.
Already in January, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) gave Israel an interim decision, according to which it must do everything possible to prevent the genocide in Gaza. It’s about a lawsuit filed by South Africa against Israel, where it accuses Israel of mass destruction.