TEL AVIV, April 9. /TASS/. Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has accused Turkey of violating trade agreements with the Jewish state, and the country's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of sacrificing economic interests for the sake of the radical Hamas movement.
"Erdogan is once again sacrificing the economic interests of the people of Turkey to support the Hamas murderers in Gaza. Israel will not submit to violence and extortion, will not tolerate unilateral violations of trade agreements and will take retaliatory measures against Turkey that will harm the Turkish economy," Katz wrote on social network X, commenting on the export restrictions imposed "unilaterally" by the Turkish authorities on Tuesday.
The Israeli Foreign Minister also said that he gave instructions "to contact countries and a number of organizations in the United States" on the issue of "stopping investments in Turkey" and "preventing the import of products from Turkey," and asked "friends in the American Congress" to "look at the laws being violated on the boycott [of Israel] and impose sanctions against Turkey."
Earlier the Turkish Ministry of Trade announced that it would introduce restrictions on the export of 54 items of industrial goods to Israel starting on April 9 until the end of hostilities in Gaza and the creation of conditions for the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid to the enclave. The restrictions will apply to various types of products made from steel, aluminum, paint, electrical cables, aviation fuel, oils, fertilizers, and some types of industrial equipment.
The list of restrictions also includes cement, all types of construction materials made of iron and steel, fittings, fiber optic cables, forklifts, excavators, granite, marble, insulating materials, metalworking equipment, machine tools, bricks and clinker, as well as chemicals used for metal processing.
Tensions in the Middle East flared up again on October 7, 2023, after militants from the radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip, killing residents of border communities and taking hundreds hostage. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel announced a total blockade of Gaza and started carrying out retaliatory strikes on targets in the Strip, as well as on certain areas in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also taking place on the West Bank.