OPEN LETTER/ Come to the dialogue and listen to me speak, otherwise I will cut off your scholarships, you will rot in prison. Please!

 Kliko këtu për të tjera
Voxpress:

After calling Netanyahu "Hitler", Erdogan stops trade with Israel

2024-05-03 08:29:33Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
After calling Netanyahu "Hitler", Erdogan stops trade with Israel
Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Turkey has suspended all trade with Israel because of its offensive in Gaza, citing the "worsening humanitarian tragedy" in the Gaza Strip.

The Turkish trade ministry said the measures would be in place until Israel allows an "uninterrupted and sufficient flow" of aid to Gaza.

Trade between the two countries was worth almost $7bn (£5.6bn) last year.

Israel's Foreign Minister accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of acting like a "dictator".

Israel Katz said in X that Erdogan was "disregarding the interests of the Turkish people and businessmen and ignoring international trade agreements."

He added that he had instructed the foreign ministry to find alternatives for trade with Turkey, focusing on domestic production and imports from other countries.

In a statement, Turkey said the trade suspension covered "all products".

"Turkey will rigorously and resolutely implement these new measures until the Israeli government allows an uninterrupted and sufficient flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza."

In 1949, Turkey was the first Muslim-majority country to recognize Israel. But relations have deteriorated in recent decades.

In 2010, Turkey severed diplomatic relations with Israel after 10 Turkish pro-Palestinian activists were killed in clashes with Israeli commandos who boarded a Turkish-owned ship trying to break Israel's naval blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Relations were restored in 2016, but the two countries expelled each other's top diplomats two years later in a dispute over Israel's killing of Palestinians amid protests on the Gaza-Israel border.

Erdogan has become increasingly harsh in his criticism of Israel since the deadly Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 last year. In January, he said the military offensive that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched in response was "no less than what Hitler did."

Netanyahu responded: "Erdogan, who committed genocide against the Kurds, who holds a world record for imprisoning journalists who oppose his rule, is the last person who can preach morality to us."

Israel has come under increasing criticism for conditions in the Gaza Strip. A UN-backed assessment said last month that 1.1 million people were facing catastrophic hunger and that famine was imminent in northern Gaza by May.

On Thursday, the White House said a pier built by the US military to facilitate the flow of aid to the territory would open within days.

The US has released photos showing logistics ships and personnel assembling the floating pier from steel segments next to a US Navy ship.

However, the UN says that a sea corridor can never be a substitute for land deliveries and that land routes are the only way to bring in most of the needed supplies.

Earlier this week, Israel reopened the Erez Crossing in the northern Gaza Strip to aid convoys, under pressure from its Western allies and after repeated calls from international aid organizations.

However, Jordan said some of its aid trucks were attacked by Israeli settlers before reaching the crossing.

A recent UN-backed report provided strong statistical evidence that the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza was turning into a man-made famine.

The UN's top human rights official, Volker Türk, told the BBC there was a "credible" case that Israel was using hunger as a weapon of war in Gaza.

Israel denies restricting aid shipments and has blamed the UN for failing to distribute them to those in need inside Gaza.

Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza to destroy Hamas in response to the group's attack in southern Israel on October 7, during which around 1,200 people were killed and 253 others were taken hostage.

More than 34,500 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas territory's health ministry.

On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Israel and Hamas that "the time has come" for a deal to bring a ceasefire to Gaza and release the remaining hostages held there. He said a deal was on the table and Hamas should agree to it.

Mediators are awaiting a response from Hamas on the latest proposal. It reportedly includes a 40-day ceasefire and the release of more than 30 Israeli hostages in exchange for many Palestinian prisoners.


Në përputhje me standarded JTI

Video

SHIKO KANALIN NE YOUTUBE
×