Palestinian women and children walk past the ruins of buildings destroyed by earlier Israeli bombardment in Gaza City on April 8, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Istanbul: Turkiye said it would impose trade restrictions on Israel starting Tuesday over the war in Gaza, covering a range of products including cement and steel and iron construction materials.
The new measures come a day after Turkiye said Israel had blocked its attempt to airdrop aid to Gaza.
"This decision will remain in place until Israel declares a ceasefire immediately and allows adequate and uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza," the trade ministry announced on social media.
It attached a list of 54 products subject to export restrictions.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Monday vowed reprisals against Israel for blocking Turkiye's air force from airdropping aid to Gaza, saying they would be implemented "step by step" and "without delay".
The export measures were approved by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he added.
"We will continue our support until the bloodshed in Gaza stops and our Palestinian brothers reach a free Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital," Erdogan said in a message on Tuesday for Eid al-Fitr -- the Muslim feast that marks the end of Ramadan.
Turkiye has become one of the harshest critics of Israel's war on Gaza, with Erdogan branding Israel a "terrorist state".
Turkiye's trade action against Israel follows domestic attacks against the government for failing to cut off trade sooner.
On Saturday, Turkish police detained a small group of pro-Palestinian protesters who took to Istanbul's central Taksim square to urge the government to cut trade ties.
Turkiye's exports to Israel stood at $5.43 billion last year, down from $7.03 billion in 2022, according to the Turkish Exporters' Union and statistics agency Turkstat.
