A Turkish diplomatic source on Friday issued a clarification of Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s announcement that his country has severed all economic and trade relations with Israel.
While Fidan stated that the measures include the suspension of all commercial exchanges and the closure of Turkish airspace to Israeli aircraft, the source told Reuters that the Turkish Foreign Minister was only referring to Israeli government flights and flights carrying weapons to Israel when he said that Ankara was not letting Israeli “airplanes to go into our airspace.”
“The minister’s comments refer to official Israeli flights and flights carrying weapons or ammunition to Israel. This does not apply to transit commercial flights,” the source stated.
Turkey claimed the move to cut economic and trade relations with Israel was a response to the war in Gaza.
Fidan accused Israel of what he termed “massacres” against Gazans and charged that Israel is deliberately making the enclave uninhabitable. He further claimed that Israel is blocking humanitarian aid and warned that its policies endanger regional stability.
The minister said the decision reflects Ankara’s broader response to what it views as ongoing crimes in Gaza. He added that Turkey will continue to work with Qatar and Egypt in efforts to address the conflict.
The decision comes amid tensions between Israel and Turkey and followed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s public recognition for the first time of the Armenian Genocide during World War 1.
Turkey issued a sharp rebuke, rejecting Netanyahu’s remarks as politically motivated and historically unfounded.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has increased his verbal attacks on Israel since the start of the war in Gaza on October 7, 2023.
The two countries had been on track to restore strained ties before Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel.
In March, Erdogan blasted Israel and described it as a “terror state” after it launched surprise strikes on terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip.
In June, the Turkish President claimed that Netanyahu’s government represents the most significant threat to Middle East security.
(Israel National News’ North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)