IRIA News

Israel’s international isolation grows over its brutal attacks on the Gaza Strip. Turkey has suspended all trade with Israel in protest over the ongoing war in Gaza. Joining this wave of protests, Colombia became the latest Latin American country, after Bolivia and Belize, to break its diplomatic ties with Israel.

“All import and export transactions related to Israel, including all products, have been stopped,” Turkey’s trade ministry said in a statement. “Turkey will strictly and decisively implement these new measures until the Israeli government allows an uninterrupted and sufficient flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza.”

Turkey’s Trade Ministry announced the decision in a statement on May 3, 2024, to halt all trade with Israel until a “permanent ceasefire” is established in the Gaza Strip. This marks the latest international sanction imposed on Israel and highlights the escalating global pressure to bring an end to the conflict in the region.

Turkiye’s announcement builds upon a series of statements by its leadership, stating that it had suspended all trade with Israel until “uninterrupted and adequate humanitarian aid is allowed into Gaza.” Despite Turkey’s measures, Israel persisted in issuing repeated warnings that it was preparing for a potential offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The United Nations warned this week that such an offensive could lead to a “slaughter” in Gaza.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that his government “closed that door” on trade with Israel, ignoring the annual trade volume of $9.5 billion between Turkey and Israel due to Israeli “aggression against Palestine in violation of international law and human rights.”

Erdogan said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s blatant moves made the Türkiye-Israel rapprochement impossible “by attacking women and children.” The trade sanctions, he said, have a single goal: “to force the Netanyahu leadership, which has gotten out of control with the West’s unconditional military and diplomatic support, to a ceasefire.”

Israel’s offensive has killed nearly 34,622 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to local health officials.

Israeli reaction

Israel’s foreign minister Israel Katz reacted strongly to the move by lashing out at Erdogan. “This is how a dictator behaves, disregarding the interests of the Turkish people and businessmen, and ignoring international trade agreements,” Katz said in response to Ankara’s latest move.

Official data indicates that Turkey-Israel trade amounted to $7 billion last year. Israel ranked among the top 20 destinations for Turkish exports, purchasing goods and services valued at $5.4 billion. Reuters reports that Turkey’s primary exports to Israel include steel, vehicles, plastics, electrical devices, and machinery. Conversely, Turkey’s imports from Israel totaled $1.6 billion last year.

Katz added that he had ordered the director-general of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to “immediately engage with all relevant parties in the government to create alternatives for trade with Turkey, focusing on local production and imports from other countries.”

Last month, Ankara announced restrictions on its exports of at least 54 products, including cement, steel, aluminum, iron, and construction materials, to Israel after Israel denied Turkey’s request to conduct a humanitarian aid airdrop operation in Gaza. Export restrictions were also imposed on several productions used for military or construction applications.

Colombia cuts ties with Israel

During a gathering commemorating International Workers’ Day in Bogota, Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro announced that the country would sever diplomatic relations with Israel due to its conflict in Gaza. “If Palestine dies, humanity dies,” Petro said during his address.

Petro described Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocide” and declared the termination of diplomatic ties with Israel. However, he did not discuss the potential implications of his decision on Colombia’s military, which utilizes Israeli-manufactured warplanes and machine guns in combating drug cartels and rebel factions. Additionally, there was no mention of the impact on the free trade agreement between the two nations, which came into force in 2020.

A free trade agreement between Colombia and Israel went into effect in August 2020. Israel now buys 1% of Colombia’s total exports, which include coal, coffee, and flowers. As per Colombia’s Ministry of Commerce, Bogota’s exports to Israel amounted to $499 million last year, marking a 53% decrease from 2022. Colombia’s imports from Israel consist of electrical equipment, plastics, and fertilizers. Both governments have yet to clarify whether the diplomatic dispute will impact the trade agreement.

Colombia has become the third Latin American country to completely cut ties with Israel. In November 2023. Bolivia and Belize have become the first two countries from the region to completely sever their diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv over its military campaign in Gaza. At that time Chile and Colombia had recalled their diplomatic envoys from Tel Aviv to mark protest over Israel’s actions in Gaza.

Ceasefire talks in Egypt

Efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza and negotiate the release of hostages have intensified, with ceasefire discussions continuing in Cairo for the second day on May 5, 2024. Negotiators with Hamas, facilitated by Egypt and Qatar, aim to temporarily halt Israel’s offensive in Gaza in exchange for the release of hostages. Israeli officials did not travel to Cairo to take part in talks.

Hamas said its delegation was traveling in a “positive spirit” after studying the latest truce proposal. “We are determined to secure an agreement in a way that fulfills Palestinians’ demands,” it said. Hamas expressed its intention to further develop the proposed agreement, indicating areas of disagreement between the two sides. The primary point of contention between the two sides seems to revolve around whether the ceasefire agreement would be permanent or temporary.

The Director of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) William Burns has also traveled to Cairo to assist in facilitating the latest round of negotiations. The U.S., Israel’s biggest diplomatically, is taking a keen interest in the negotiation efforts as Washington is reluctant to back Israel’s latest offenses in the Gaza Strip. Biden Administration has been pushing Israeli leadership not to initiate military action in Rafah.

The talks came amidst growing calls for a ceasefire and global pressure on Israel to end its military offensive in Gaza. The pro-Palestinian protests that began at top universities across the United States have now spread to France, Australia, the UK, and elsewhere. The continuing pro-Palestinian demonstrations and clashes with law enforcement across U.S. campuses have sparked discussions and put pressure on diplomats to negotiate a ceasefire.

The U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently wrapped up his seventh trip to the Middle East region since the tensions flared, engaging with Arab leaders and Israelis in a final effort to prevent a potential Rafah operation that experts warn could lead to a humanitarian catastrophe.

UN warns invasion of Rafah risks killing thousands

The U.N. humanitarian office has declared that the Israeli military operation in Rafah would risk the lives of hundreds of thousands of residents in Gaza and severely disrupt aid efforts across the entire region.

“It could be a slaughter of civilians and an incredible blow to the humanitarian operation in the entire strip because it is run primarily out of Rafah,” said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the U.N. Humanitarian Office, at a Geneva press briefing.

Israel has issued repeated warnings of a potential operation targeting Hamas in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. This area is home to approximately a million displaced individuals who have sought refuge after months of Israeli airstrikes, prompted by a cross-border attack by Hamas fighters on October 7, 2023.