Israel's foreign minister said on Thursday that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was breaking agreements by blocking ports for Israeli imports and exports.
"This is how a dictator behaves, disregarding the interests of the Turkish people and businessmen, and ignoring international trade agreements," Foreign Minister Israel Katz posted on X.
Katz said he instructed the foreign ministry to work to create alternatives for trade with Türkiye, focusing on local production and imports from other countries.
Bloomberg reported on Thursday that Türkiye had stopped all exports and imports to and from Israel, citing two Turkish officials.
The Turkish presidency, foreign and trade ministries were not immediately available for comment.
The two countries had a trade volume of $6.8 billion in 2023.
Türkiye last month imposed trade restrictions on Israel over what it said was Israel's refusal to allow Ankara to take part in aid air-drop operations for Gaza and its offensive on the enclave.
Asked about Türkiye’s ongoing trade with Israel despite the harsh rhetoric from Ankara, Erdogan said last month that Türkiye no longer continued "intense trade" with Israel, adding "that is done".
He did not indicate Ankara had cut off all trade with Israel, however.
