Turkey halts trade with Israel over 'humanitarian tragedy' in Gaza

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: BBC

3 hours ago


Turkey has suspended all trade with Israel over its offensive in Gaza, citing the "worsening humanitarian tragedy" in the strip. The Turkish trade ministry said the measures would be in place until Israel allowed an "uninterrupted and sufficient flow" of aid into Gaza.

Trade between the two countries was worth almost $7bn (£5.6bn) last year. Israel's foreign minister accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of acting like a "dictator".

Israel Katz said on X that Mr Erdogan was "disregarding the interests of the Turkish people and businessmen and ignoring international trade agreements".

He added that he had instructed the foreign ministry to find alternatives for trade with Turkey, with a focus on local production and imports from other countries.

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68945380

[Aussie105]

1. 'humanitarian tragedy'

Why the ' and " marks?

It really is a humanitarian tragedy, and other countries have every right to show their disapproval any way they can.

The US is doing similar with Russian and Chinese trade.

[TeamProg]

2. Economic sanctions are fairly common. I'm no fan of Turkey and I'm

a little surprised Israel is worried about trade with a “dictator”.

Only now AFTER Turkey has issued trade sanctions that Katz calls Turkey a dictatorship?

Seriously weak Mr. Katz.

[Lonestarblue]

3. Other countries should do the same.

Netanyahu is leading Israel to a dark place, and the sooner they dump him the better. Whatever pressure can be brought by other countries to convince Israelis that continuing this war against innocent Palestinians is not in their best interests should be applied. By continuing this war, Israel is risking become a pariah state and losing the traditional support it has enjoyed among Western nations. Thomas Friedman has an interesting piece in the NYT today about investments by global technology firms in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The US is working with Saudi Arabia to conclude an alliance aimed at isolating Iran and curbing China’s influence in the Middle East. Israel is not a formal part of the alliance.

Netanyahu will extend his war on Gaza not only to protect himself from prosecution but also to hurt Biden and the US. He wants Trump to win because he knows that Trump doesn’t care what he does. But the longer the war continues, the more harm for Israel as much of the world perceives it as a state pursuing genocide.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are fiercely competing today to partner with the most important global companies driving A.I. More global companies may voluntarily divest from Israel because opportunities are better elsewhere.

“As the U.A.E.’s most important newspaper, The National, noted on Tuesday: “In the aftermath of Microsoft’s $1.5 billion investment in Abu Dhabi artificial intelligence and cloud company G42, the spotlight is now on the Middle East’s growing stature as a regional leader for global technology. The charge, led by the U.A.E. and Saudi Arabia, has attracted attention from the likes of Oracle, Google and Amazon and highlights increasing investor confidence in the region, with growing financial backing from, and relations with, the West.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/02/opinion/israel-saudi-arabia.html?unlocked_article_code=1.pE0.YqlN.-fsuowMWpcOY&smid=url-share

[JoseBalow]

4. The same Turkey that slaughtered over a million Armenians?

Would this be considered irony, or hypocrisy?

This genocide put an end to more than two thousand years of Armenian civilization in eastern Anatolia. Together with the mass murder and expulsion of Assyrian/Syriac and Greek Orthodox Christians, it enabled the creation of an ethnonationalist Turkish state, the Republic of Turkey. The Turkish government maintains that the deportation of Armenians was a legitimate action that cannot be described as genocide. As of 2023, 34 countries have recognized the events as genocide, concurring with the academic consensus.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_genocide