Turkish President Erdogan announced on the 13th that Türkiye has severed relations with Israel and will not take any measures to continue or develop bilateral relations in the future.
According to the Turkish Anadolu News Agency on the same day, Erdogan responded to the question of whether Türkiye-Israel trade is still continuing on the flight from Azerbaijan to Türkiye and emphasized that the Turkish government led by him is determined to cut off relations with Israel. "At present, we have no relations with Israel and have not taken any actions to improve such relations."
In May 2024, Türkiye announced the suspension of all import and export trade with Israel on the grounds that Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip have exacerbated the humanitarian crisis in the region.
The Turkish Ministry of Trade said in a statement that due to Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip constantly causing humanitarian disasters and damaging local facilities, Türkiye has suspended the export of 54 categories of goods to Israel in the first phase on April 9, and the Israeli government has not stopped its actions in the Gaza Strip since then, which has further exacerbated the local humanitarian disaster.
For this reason, Türkiye's second-phase measures have been launched, and it has decided to suspend all import and export trade activities with Israel.
According to data from the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, Israel's exports to Türkiye in 2023 will be US$1.57 billion and imports will be US$4.61 billion. Türkiye is Israel's fifth largest importer and ninth largest exporter.
On October 12, local time, Turkish President Erdogan once again criticized Israel for launching a "genocide" in the Gaza Strip, calling it a shame in human history, but "Palestine and Lebanon will eventually be free." Erdogan said that Israel is a threat to peace in the Middle East and the world. "This threat must be eliminated, and those who have the responsibility to protect world peace must maintain peace."
The two largest unions in Spain, CCOO and UGT, recently announced that Spanish truck and bus drivers will start a series of strikes on October 28, and the number of strikers may reach 500,000.