Erdoğan said 'We are the first country to stop trade with Israel' but the facts turned out to be very different: Trade records with Israel have been broken!

Journalist Fatih Altaylı criticized President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's statement that "we are the only country to stop commercial relations with Israel," alleging that Turkey continues its commercial relations with Israel through indirect means.

Citing data from Israel's official statistics bureau, Altaylı stated that 116.1 million dollars worth of imports were made from Turkey in September 2024, and that this figure reached a total of 1 billion 809 million dollars in the first 9 months of the year.

Altaylı used the expression, "The day after we said we cut off our trade with Israel, increasing trade via Palestine does not mean cutting off relations with Israel."

'WORDS ALONE DON'T GET THE JOB DONE'

Altaylı argued that the protests held in Turkey regarding Israel's attacks on Gaza display a contradictory stance.

Fatih Altaylı continued his words as follows:

"In Turkey, the protesting of companies carrying goods to Israel at a rally organized for Gaza is being prevented by the police. Protesters are being detained. In contrast, in countries like Portugal and Spain, the public can protest freely, and non-governmental organizations are closing their ports to ships carrying Israeli goods."

Altaylı argued that Turkey continues its commercial relations with Israel through indirect means, saying, "In Turkey, words alone have been getting the job done for years. And they are even carrying goods to Israel."