CHP's Günaydın asks Minister Bolat: 'How many ships have gone from Turkey to Israel?'

President and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had most recently stated in response to a question at a bilateral press conference held with the President of Germany in Ankara on April 24, "We are no longer maintaining intense commercial relations with Israel; that business is over." Subsequently, it was revealed in ministry records that trade with Israel was continuing.

CHP Group Deputy Chairman Gökhan Günaydın has brought the trade conducted between Turkey and Israel to the parliamentary agenda.

In the parliamentary question he submitted for Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat to answer, Günaydın pointed out that the information claiming trade with Israel had been banned was not accurate according to international logistics records.

Günaydın directed the following questions to Minister Bolat: "How many shipments have been made from Turkish ports to Israel's Ashdod Port since October 8, 2023? Have their commercial registry records been identified?"

''COMMERCIAL SHIPMENTS CONTINUED EASILY WHILE ISRAEL WAS BOMBING GAZA''

In the parliamentary question he submitted to the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM), CHP's Günaydın stated the following regarding his findings on trade with Israel:

"It has been frequently repeated in statements made by your Ministry as well as other authorities that commercial relations with Israel were restricted starting from October 7, 2023, when Israel began bombing Gaza, and were completely cut off at a later date. However, international logistics records contradict this information, and investigations by meticulous journalists have determined that this information is not accurate. The international logistics tracking site Marinetraffic.com provides the opportunity to access all its records after purchasing a membership. Following access to these records, it is observed that the ship named Halit Yıldırım departed from the Gulf of Iskenderun on October 11, 2023, arrived at Israel's Ashdod Port on October 14, 2023, and departed from Israel's Ashdod Port fully loaded on October 18, 2023.

It has been determined that Manta Denizcilik Nakliyat ve Ticaret LTD., to which the ship named Halit Yıldırım is affiliated, is registered in the name of M. Mert Çetinkaya at the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, and that at the same time, MB Denizcilik Gayrimenkul İnşaat Sanayi ve Ticaret AŞ. is registered in the names of Ahmet Burak Erdoğan and M. Mert Çetinkaya. Moreover, in the commercial registry records of both companies, the address information, telephone and fax numbers, and even websites appear to be the same. Therefore, the partnership between these two companies is clearly visible. Accordingly, it can be said that commercial shipments continued easily while Israel was bombing Gaza. Therefore, very fundamental questions that need to be explained must be clarified in the eyes of the public."

DIFFICULT QUESTIONS FOR MINISTER BOLAT

CHP's Günaydın directed the following questions to Minister Bolat and requested an answer:

1. Is it true that the ship named Halit Yıldırım made shipments between the Gulf of Iskenderun and Israel's Ashdod Port between the dates of October 11, 2023, and October 18, 2023? If they were made, are these shipments still continuing?

2. Considering the partnership between Manta Denizcilik LTD and MB Denizcilik AŞ, was it known by your Ministry that the company in which President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's son, Ahmet Burak Erdoğan, is a partner, was maintaining its relations with Israel under wartime conditions?

3. How many shipments have been made from Turkish ports to Israel's Ashdod Port since October 8, 2023? Have their commercial registry records been identified?

News Source: 12punto