Turkey Announces Severing of Economic Ties With Israel, Closes Skies to Israeli Aircraft

Latest Developments

Israeli Planes Barred From Turkish Airspace: Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on August 29 that Ankara had closed the country’s airspace to Israeli aircraft as a protest against Israel’s continued military campaign against the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza. Turkey previously prevented Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s plane from using the country’s airspace in November while he flew to a summit in Azerbaijan, but Friday’s statement in front of the Turkish parliament was the first time Ankara had declared the total exclusion of Israeli aircraft from Turkish airspace.
Trade Ban Reinforced: Fidan stated that Turkey had completely severed commercial and economic ties with Israel, halting all imports and exports to and from the Jewish state. However, one Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post that trade relations had continued between the two nations after similar Turkish statements in the past. Ankara previously declared in May 2024 that “all import and export transactions related to Israel, including all products, have been stopped.”
Air Ban Follows Sea Ban: The latest Turkish moves against Israel came after Ankara announced similar restrictions on “maritime traffic connected to Israel, prohibiting both Israel-flagged or Israel-owned vessels from entering Turkish ports and Turkey-flagged ships from sailing to Israel.” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the restrictions represented “a new sanction” against Israel. However, until now, no formal government motion has been passed regarding the shipping restrictions, with the measures reportedly conveyed to Turkish port authorities verbally.

FDD Expert Response

“Turkey’s anti-Israel grandstanding has reached another yawn-inducing high. Outwardly, Ankara desires world audiences to believe it leads relief efforts to aid Palestinians in Gaza. However, Ankara remains steadfastly committed to earning its stripes as a state sponsor of terrorism, seeking to redraw the state boundaries of the Middle East and the maritime borders of the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas. Its relentless moralizing is an insult to any cause it claims to advocate for.” — Sinan Ciddi, Senior Fellow

“Turkey is attempting to position itself as the bastion of opposition to Israel in the Middle East. Turkey has openly supported and championed Hamas on the international stage. It plans to lead the charge at the UN General Assembly to suspend Israel as a member state. Turkey also intends to lead the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in support of a Palestinian state. The latest decision to place a further trade embargo and travel restrictions on Israel is part of the kabuki theater Turkey is engaging in to prop up Erdogan as he erodes democratic institutions in the country.” — Tyler Stapleton, Director of Congressional Relations, FDD Action