Turkey reportedly signals that ban on trade with Israel could be lifted if there is a 'permanent peace' with Gaza

Turkey could end the ban on trading with Israel following the ceasefire agreement, the Turkish Foreign Economic Relations Board announced on Tuesday.

Such a restart of trade with Israel, however, would be conditioned on a “permanent peace” said Nail Olpak, the head of the Turkish Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK).

Turkey banned all trade with Israel last year over the war in Gaza, which was launched by Hamas, when the terrorist organization invaded southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 1,200 people, committing atrocities and kidnapping more than 200 hostages into Gaza. Turkey falsely claimed that Israel was denying humanitarian aid to Gaza as a pretext for severing trade relations.

“There can be no excuse for Israel's prevention of airdropping aid to starving Gaza,” said Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan at the time. “In response to this, we have decided to take a series of new measures against Israel.” 

Turkey halted all trade with Israel last spring, with the Turkish minister of foreign affairs declaring that the ban would be upheld until “Israel declares a cease-fire and allows humanitarian aid to reach Gaza uninterrupted.” The ban included Turkish export restrictions for 54 products, including construction materials, such as cement, steel, and iron, as well as jet fuel.  

Following the ban, Turkey also officially joined South Africa's lawsuit against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague. The lawsuit accuses Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Israel’s foreign minister at the time, Israel Katz, condemned Turkey for its hostile moves, saying that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had gone too far.

“Erdoğan crossed a line and blocked ports for Israeli exports and imports. This is how a dictator behaves – trampling on the interests of the Turkish people, businessmen and ignoring international trade agreements,” Katz said. 

“I have instructed the Foreign Ministry Director-General to hold immediate discussions with all relevant parties to find alternative solutions for trade with Turkey. Israel has a strong economy and will emerge stronger from this. We win, and they lose,” Israel's foreign minister added.

Israel and Turkey have had free trade agreements since the mid-1990s. The two countries had a trade volume of $6.8 billion in 2023. The two countries have had strained relations in recent years, but normalized ties in 2022 with the reappointment of their respective ambassadors.

At the time, Erdoğan even said that he would visit Israel, a plan he later claimed he cancelled because of Israel’s response to the events surrounding Oct. 7. 

For the past 15 months of the war, Turkey has been one of Israel’s harshest accusers with Erdoğan calling Israel, a “terrorist state”, and accusing the Jewish state of committing “genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza. 

Just two weeks after the Oct. 7 massacre, the Turkish president came out in defense of Hamas, saying, “Hamas is not a terrorist organization, it is a liberation group, mujahideen waging a battle to protect its lands and people.”