Turkey halts trade with Israel in latest Gaza rift
The country plans to join South Africa's genocide case against Israel
What happened
Turkey said late Thursday it has indefinitely suspended all trade with Israel over the "worsening humanitarian tragedy" in Gaza. On Wednesday, Turkey's foreign minister said Ankara will join South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, and Colombia became the third Latin American country to sever diplomatic ties with Israel over its Gaza war, following Bolivia and Belize.
Who said what
Imports and exports to Israel "have been stopped, covering all products," until the Israeli government "allows an uninterrupted and sufficient flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza," Turkey's Trade Ministry said. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is acting like a "dictator," Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on X, "disregarding the interests of the Turkish people and businessmen, and ignoring international trade agreements."
What next?
Hamas said Thursday it is sending delegates back to Egypt for cease-fire talks, raising hopes for a promising proposal to end the war. The United Nations estimated it could plausibly take until 2104 to rebuild Gaza if the fighting stops now, or until 2040 under "the most optimistic scenario," said their report.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
‘Lumpy skin’ protests intensify across France as farmers fight cullIN THE SPOTLIGHT A bovine outbreak coupled with ongoing governmental frustrations is causing major problems for French civil society
-
The best books of 2025The Week Recommends A deep dive into the site of a mass shooting, a new release from the author of ‘Atonement’ and more
-
Inside Minnesota’s extensive fraud schemesThe Explainer The fraud allegedly goes back to the Covid-19 pandemic
-
What is the global intifada?The Explainer Police have arrested two people over controversial ‘globalise the intifada’ chants
-
The issue dividing Israel: ultra-Orthodox draft dodgersIn the Spotlight A new bill has solidified the community’s ‘draft evasion’ stance, with this issue becoming the country’s ‘greatest internal security threat’
-
‘They’re nervous about playing the game’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump’s Ukraine peace talks advance amid leaked callSpeed Read Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff is set to visit Russia next week
-
Memo signals Trump review of 233k refugeesSpeed Read The memo also ordered all green card applications for the refugees to be halted
-
Pentagon targets Kelly over ‘illegal orders’ videoSpeed Read The Pentagon threatened to recall Kelly to active duty
-
Judge tosses Trump DOJ cases against Comey, JamesSpeed Read Both cases could potentially be brought again
-
US, Kyiv report progress on shifting Ukraine peace planSpeed Read The deal ‘must fully uphold Ukraine’s sovereignty,’ the countries said
