Palestine exempted from Türkiye's trade ban at request: Minister

ISTANBUL

Palestine asked the Turkish government to exempt the Palestinian territories from Türkiye's decision to ban trade with the Israelis, a Palestinian minister said on Monday.

“After Türkiye banned exports to Israel, this trade was limited only to Palestine and thus there was an increase in Türkiye's exports to Palestine. Because some of our imports from Türkiye were made from the Israeli market and through Israeli traders,” Palestinian National Economy Minister Mohammed Al-Amour told Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency.

He appreciated Türkiye's efforts to exert international pressure on Israel to stop this cruel war.

The minister noted that after the war on Gaza, the Turkish government suspended trade relations with the Israeli government by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s decision in order to deter the Israeli government and pressure it to stop the war.

“We reviewed the situation in terms of mechanisms to ensure that the Palestinian market is not deprived of Turkish goods. As a result of studies on this issue, we agreed on a specific mechanism for regulating the trade relationship and asked the Turkish government to exempt the Palestinian territories from Türkiye's decision to ban trade with Israelis,” he explained.

“We agreed on a mechanism to control this process and ensure that Turkish goods that are not covered by the Turkish export ban to the Palestinian market are subject to a specific regulation in the Palestinian law and within the mechanisms approved by the Palestinian National Economy Ministry.”

Al-Amour noted that more detailed work is underway to ensure that goods exported from Türkiye reach only the Palestinian market.