Türkiye has confirmed the complete suspension of all trade with Israel until a durable ceasefire is established in Gaza and humanitarian aid is restored to the region, according to Trade Minister Omer Bolat. Bolat emphasized that, as of May 2, there are “no customs declarations registered for exports and imports from our country to Israel,” and the customs system is entirely closed to trade with Israel. He made these remarks in a statement on X (formerly Twitter), adding:

“Our customs system is completely closed to trade with Israel.”

Bolat also noted that Türkiye’s trade with Palestinian territories remains active. Turkish exports to Palestine continue, conditional upon the Palestinian Ministry of National Economy’s official verification that shipments are destined solely for Palestinian importers. “The Palestinian Ministry of National Economy has stated numerous times that these goods are exclusively for Palestine, and our trade data supports this,” Bolat explained.

Türkiye-Palestine Trade Mechanism

Under Türkiye’s bilateral trade mechanism with Palestine, roughly a quarter of the Palestinian territories’ imports were sourced from Türkiye in 2022. Starting this year, Türkiye began recording these exports separately to enhance transparency, marking a shift from previous records where Palestinian trade was logged under Israeli trade data.

“Through this established trade mechanism, Palestinian importers apply to the Palestinian Ministry of National Economy for each shipment. Upon electronic confirmation, shipment registration is completed in coordination with our ministry,” Bolat elaborated.

The same procedure is applied to Palestinian exports to Türkiye, which must be verified by the Palestinian Ministry of National Economy. Transactions from free zones and bonded warehouses with Palestine are also permissible under this electronic system.

“This mechanism enables our country to continue meeting Palestinian needs and supporting Palestine’s economic stability in its just cause,” Bolat said.