Is trade with Palestine a camouflage for trade with Israel?

After the AKP emerged as the second party in the local elections, internal evaluations identified trade with Israel as one of the most significant causes of their vote loss, prompting them to roll up their sleeves for more effective rhetoric and policies.

Precisely on the day Hamas leader Haniyeh was killed and Turkey declared a national day of mourning, some suspicious figures in export data caught the eye.

Uğur Zengin from the newspaper Evrensel and later Emre Develi from Sözcü followed the trail of this data, revealing a telling picture.

According to the news reported by Evrensel yesterday under the headline "Flags at half-mast, trade at its peak";

Export data published by the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) has raised suspicions regarding exports to Israel. While exports from Turkey to Israel have been zeroed out, exports to Palestine, where the war has intensified, have increased by 1180 percent compared to July of last year.

While 9.3 million dollars worth of exports were made from Turkey to Palestine in July 2023, when there was no hot war, the export amount in July of this year reached 119.6 million dollars. 

BECAME FIRST IN EXPORTS

Last year in July, 383.9 million dollars worth of exports were made to Israel, and 3.1 billion dollars worth in the January-July period of last year. According to TİM data, exports to Israel were completely zeroed out in July.

Palestine, on the other hand, had realized 9.3 million dollars worth of exports from Turkey in July of last year. According to TİM data, in the midst of a war where 40 thousand people have been killed, Palestine increased its imports from Turkey by 1180 percent. Palestine's imports from Turkey rose to 119.5 million dollars in July 2024, while it was under heavy attack.

The increase in exports to Palestine broke a record. The amount of Turkey's exports to Palestine has increased more than ever before. Among the countries to which Turkey exports over 500 thousand dollars, Palestine was the country with the highest export increase by a wide margin. While Turkey's exports to Palestine increased by 1180 percent compared to the same month of the previous year, they increased by 104.6 percent compared to June. In June, 58.4 million dollars worth of exports were made from Turkey to Palestine.

0 TO ISRAEL, 50 THOUSAND PERCENT STEEL TO PALESTINE

Turkey, which is Israel's largest steel exporter, has zeroed out its steel exports to Israel on paper according to TİM data. However, steel exports to Palestine have increased massively.

According to TİM data, while Turkey realized only 27 thousand dollars worth of steel exports to Palestine in July of last year, this export amount climbed to 14.3 million dollars in July 2024. This means an increase of 51 thousand 756 percent in steel exports.

There was also an increase of over 453 thousand percent in cement and glass products, which are important import items for Israel. Palestine had imported only one thousand dollars in this category in July of last year. This amount rose to 4.7 million dollars in July 2024.

Remarkable increases were also seen in monthly exports from Turkey to Palestine. Cement product exports, which were 3.6 million dollars in June, jumped to 4.7 million dollars, and steel exports, which were 1 million dollars in June, jumped to 14.3 million dollars.

JEWELRY EXPORTS IN THE MIDST OF WAR

On the other hand, serious import increases were also seen in categories where Palestine had never imported from Turkey. Palestine, which did not buy any jewelry, olives, fresh fruit, textiles and raw materials, carpets, or furniture from Turkey last year, began large-scale imports in these areas.

According to TİM data, the amount of Palestine's imports from Turkey reached 170 thousand dollars. Palestine's imports from Turkey in this area were zero in July and June 2023. This amount was 33 thousand dollars last June. With the intensifying war, Palestine's jewelry imports increased by 417 percent on a monthly basis. Furniture product imports rose from zero to 12 million dollars. Palestine's carpet imports also reached 2.4 million dollars.

THE MINISTER'S PREVIOUS STATEMENTS STRENGTHEN SUSPICIONS

TİM President Mustafa Gültepe, speaking to Emre Deveci from Sözcü, says he does not know the reason for the very high increase in exports to Palestine.

While Deveci was tracing this increase that even Gültepe could not make sense of, he encountered interesting information. There is a news report dated April 7, 2024, which AA reported based on Ministry of Trade sources. The report stated that because there is no customs gate, exports to Palestine are necessarily made via Israeli ports and appear as exports to Israel in the records.

This point is very important because 96.5 percent of exports to Palestine are still made by sea. And according to this news, Israeli merchants buy these goods arriving at the port to sell to Palestinians. As of May, whatever happens, the situation changes and exports sent via Israeli ports become recordable as "Palestine". At this point, there are interesting statements from Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat and the Israeli Foreign Minister at the beginning of May. Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat says on May 3 that "technical meetings are being held so that the Palestinian people are not affected by the cessation of trade with Israel." Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz also claims on May 9 that "Erdoğan has taken a step back and lifted many of the trade restrictions on Israel." Bolat immediately denies this statement. Whether what is called technical meetings is the issue of recording goods entering through Israeli ports as exports to Palestine is unknown.

Some exporters speaking to Deveci about this uncertainty also say that some of the exports previously recorded as Israel were going to Palestine, and now the opposite situation might be happening. In other words, a huge question is waiting for an answer: Is the trade with Israel, which is said to have been terminated, being continued under the guise of trade with Palestine?