Turkey to take ‘series of measures’ against Israel after Gaza aid drop denied

ANKARA — Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced on Monday that his country would unveil new actions against Israel in response to the Jewish state’s refusal to allow Ankara to provide aid to Gaza from the air.

"Today we learned that our request, which was welcomed by the Jordanian authorities, was rejected by Israel," Fidan said in a rare solo press conference at the ministry. “There can be no excuse for Israel's prevention of airdropping aid to starving Gaza. In response to this, we have decided to take a series of new measures against Israel.”

Fidan refrained from clarifying what actions would be taken, saying that they would be announced at a later time.

“These measures, approved by our president, will be implemented step by step, without delay,” he went on. “They will be shared with the public by our relevant institutions.”

The unspecified measures would continue until “Israel declares a cease-fire and allows humanitarian aid to reach Gaza uninterrupted,” he added.

Turkey has become the second-largest aid provider to Gaza, contributing more than 42 tons of aid, and the ninth Turkish aid ship was en route to the region, said the Turkish minister.

The announcement comes amid public pressure on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government regarding Turkey's trade ties with Israel. Dozens of citizens gathered in Taksim square in central Istanbul on Saturday, calling on the Turkish government to sever trade ties with Israel.

The heavy-handed intervention by the police and detention of more than 40 demonstrators prompted angry reactions from opposition parties.

"The treatment of the demonstrators is a clear violation of freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, and it is against the constitution," said the main opposition leader, Ozgur Ozel.

Most of the demonstrators were released after brief periods of detention, according to Turkish media.

In response to the public outcry, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on Sunday that an investigation into the police conduct had been launched. He added that two police officers who were on duty during the protest had been suspended.

Speaking on Monday, Fidan tacitly responded to those criticisms, saying that his country "didn’t remain silent about what was happening in Gaza. We took the most correct and courageous stance under the leadership of our president.”

Turkey's exports to Israel stood at $1.1 billion from October to December 2023, according to official data, representing a slight decrease from the same period the previous year. 

Growing conservative dismay

Criticism of trade ties between Israel and Turkey were one of the campaign themes of the Islamist New Welfare Party (YRP) ahead of the March 31 nationwide local elections, in which Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) suffered a bruising defeat.

The YRP’s leader, Fatih Erbakan, heavily criticized the government for not halting trade ties with Israel. The tiny Islamist party, which entered into the Turkish parliament thanks to its alliance with the AKP in last year’s general elections, fielded its own candidates in the local polls and achieved a surprise victory by snatching two provinces that have been longtime AKP strongholds. 

Erdogan, who positioned himself as a leading champion of the Palestinian cause, has been an outspoken critic of Israel since the outbreak of Hamas-Israel war on Oct. 7. In response to Ankara’s harsh criticism, Israel announced late October that it was reassessing its diplomatic ties with Turkey, signaling that the Jewish state’s ambassador to Ankara wouldn’t return to her post after she had left the country for security reasons amid widespread anti-Israel protests. 

In response the Turkish government recalled its ambassador to Israel in November, roughly 10 months after the envoy had taken up the post, which had remained empty for four years due to disagreements largely over the Palestinian issue between the two regional powers.

Turkey does not consider Hamas a terror outfit, and the militant group’s political leaders divide their time between Turkey and Qatar, where they are based. More than 33,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in the Israeli offensive in Gaza, which began after the militant group’s unprecedented attack inside Israel left nearly 1,200 people dead. The militants also took more than 250 people hostage, including toddlers and babies, some of whom remain in captivity in Gaza.