Turkey Halts Trade With Israel, Shuts Ports to All Shipping Links

ANKARA, Aug 29 (Reuters) – Turkey has decided to bar Israeli vessels from using its ports, forbid Turkish ships from using Israeli ports and impose restrictions on planes entering Turkish airspace, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Friday.

He provided few details in comments to parliament which appeared to summarize steps that Turkey has already taken against Israel over the war in Gaza or has started to implement.

Turkey has fiercely criticized Israel’s offensive in Gaza and accuses it of committing genocide in the Palestinian enclave, a charge that Israel denies. Ankara has halted all trade with Israel, called for international measures against it and urged world powers to stop supporting Israel.

Sources told Reuters last week that Turkish port authorities had also started informally requiring shipping agents to provide letters declaring that vessels are not linked to Israel and not carrying military or hazardous cargo bound for the country. 

A source had also said that Turkish-flagged ships would be prohibited from calling at Israeli ports.

“We have totally cut our trade with Israel, we have closed off our ports to Israeli ships and we are not allowing Turkish vessels to go to Israel’s ports,” Fidan told an extraordinary parliamentary session on Israel’s attacks on Gaza.

“We are not allowing container ships carrying weapons and ammunition to Israel to enter our ports, and airplanes to go into our airspace,” he added, without giving details.

Fidan also said Turkey had presidential approval to carry out air drops of aid to Gaza.

“Our planes are ready, once Jordan gives its approval, we will be in a position to go,” he told lawmakers.

The Israeli government did not immediately comment on his remarks.

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu, Editing by Timothy Heritage and Ros Russell)

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