Turkey may restore trade relations with Israel

Turkey may resume trade relations with Israel if the peace achieved in Gaza is "permanent," Nail Olpak, head of the Foreign Economic Relations Council (DEIK), said on Tuesday.

On May 3, 2024, Turkey suspended all trade relations with Israel due to military operations in the Gaza Strip and the blockade of humanitarian aid. According to this decision, Turkey completely stopped exporting its products to Israel and importing Israeli products. In 2023, the volume of bilateral trade between the two countries amounted to about 7 billion US dollars, of which 76 percent was accounted for by Turkish exports.

Recall that on Sunday, a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas came into effect and a prisoner exchange began. During the war in the Gaza Strip, Recep Tayyip Erdogan made many statements against Israel and even tried to unite the Islamic world against Zionism. Many countries severed economic and political ties with Israel following its war crimes, and South Africa joined the case at the International Court of Justice for the genocide of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.