‘An Effective Solution’: Turkey Pushes for Arms Embargo Against Israel

Latest Developments

• Turkey Calls for Halting Weapons Shipments to Israel: Turkey submitted a letter — cosigned by 52 countries, among them Russia, China, Iran and Saudi Arabia — to the United Nations calling for a complete arms embargo on Israel on November 3. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has described a ban on weapons shipments to Israel as an ‘effective solution’ for ending the war in Gaza.

• Turkey Moves to Close Export Loopholes: Since Turkey ceased all exports to Israel in May 2024, Turkish exporters have managed to continue their shipments through intermediaries in both Greece and by shipping through Palestinian Authority-controlled areas first. A three step process has been implemented to close this loophole and create stricter governmental oversight of export shipments.

• Turkey Continues to Put International Pressure on Israel: In 2023, Turkish exports to Israel were down from $7 billion the previous year to $5.43 billon. A complete halt in exports was implemented earlier this year, with loopholes now being tightened. Announcing the letter to the UN calling for an arms embargo, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that the provision of weapons to Israel “means participating in its genocide.”

FDD Expert Response

“Erdogan has been playing a double game since Turkey announced a trade embargo with Israel. Certain transactions between Israel and Turkey that enrich allies of the president have been allowed to continue, maintaining a revenue stream for key government officials and AKP party members. The new policy enforcement still allows Turkey’s Ministry of Trade to approve transactions while President Erdogan rhetorically attacks Israel.” — Tyler Stapleton, Director of Congressional Relations at FDD Action

“Since the onset of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, Turkey has had no issues in facilitating the transfer of weapons, munitions and other forms of material support to jihadist organizations affiliated with Al Qaeda and ISIS across the entire Middle East. But when it comes to Israel seeking to bolster its defensive capabilities against Iran, which remains laser-focused on eliminating the Jewish state, Turkey wants to impose an arms embargo. This clearly exposes Turkey’s stance as solidly in the camp Islamist terrorists like Hamas, and their state sponsors like Iran.” — Sinan Ciddi, FDD Non-Resident Senior Fellow

“Turkey’s letter will find a receptive home among the non-democratic countries that dominate the United Nations. These autocracies have used the assembly to gang up on democracies such as Israel. Under the guise of defending international law and human rights, the Turkish letter is taking advantage of the United Nations’ structural anti-Israel bias to deprive the Jewish state of its right to self-defense.” — David May, FDD Research Manager and Senior Research Analyst