The trade decision, announced Thursday, is the latest sign of worsening relations between the two countries.
“We have taken some measures to force Israel to agree to a ceasefire and to increase the flow of humanitarian aid” to the Gaza Strip, RT Erdogan told a group of businessmen in Istanbul.
“We will monitor the impact of this step, which we have taken in coordination and consultation with our business community.”
Turkey said on Thursday it was suspending all trade with Israel until the Jewish state allows aid to flow freely into the Palestinian enclave amid an offensive against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
“Exports and imports to and from Israel have been suspended,” the trade ministry said in a statement, adding: “Turkey will apply these new measures […] as long as the government of Israel allows the uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz later accused Turkish President RT Erdogan of violating agreements between the two countries and blocking Israeli exports and imports.
Turkey, one of the few Muslim-majority countries to recognize Israel, announced back in April that it was restricting exports to Israel of 54 products ranging from iron and steel to jet fuel.
“We do not seek enmity or conflict in our region,” Erdogan told RT on Friday. “We don’t want to see conflicts, blood or tears in our geography.”
“Now we know we did the right thing.”
Israel’s war against Hamas has plunged the Gaza Strip into a humanitarian crisis, with the United Nations and aid agencies warning of looming famine.
The war began after Hamas launched an attack on Israel on October 7 that killed 1,170 people, mostly civilians.
In the attack, Hamas militants took about 250 hostages, 129 of whom Israel says are still in the Gaza Strip, including 34 dead.
After promising to destroy Hamas, Israel launched a massive military offensive. The Health Ministry of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip said more than 34,600 people had been killed in the war in the territory.
