Ankara — Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced in an extraordinary parliamentary session that Türkiye has completely severed all economic and trade relations with Israel, while also closing its airspace to Israeli aircraft and its ports to Israeli vessels.
Briefing lawmakers, Fidan said that Turkish-flagged ships will no longer be allowed to dock at Israeli ports, and any vessels or aircraft carrying weapons and ammunition to Israel will be barred from entering Turkish ports and airspace.
According to Anadolu Agency, Fidan stressed that in light of the ongoing massacres in Gaza and Israel’s aggressive actions across the region, Türkiye will not limit itself to statements but will escalate pressure through concrete measures. He declared that trade with Israel has now dropped to “zero,” Israeli vessels can no longer access Turkish ports, and Israeli aircraft are denied Turkish airspace.
Fidan told the lower house that these measures extend and reinforce restrictions previously introduced in phases, particularly following 2024 decisions that tightened maritime and aviation controls. International news agencies reported that Türkiye has now also toughened the licensing process for port and air access to ensure that ships carrying goods to or from Israel cannot use Turkish facilities.
State broadcaster TRT had earlier reported on the special parliamentary session, during which Fidan was expected to brief lawmakers on the situation in Gaza and Türkiye’s policy response. At the session held on Friday, he formally confirmed these decisions.
With these steps, Türkiye has reiterated its stance that Israeli policies in Gaza and the wider Palestinian territories are destabilizing the region. Despite what it described as the ineffective response of the international community, Ankara declared it is ready to act unilaterally with the strongest measures.
Fidan added that Türkiye will not accept any plan of forced displacement of Palestinians and is actively engaging internationally to secure humanitarian aid access for Gaza.
According to international reports, following these latest decisions, Israeli ships will no longer be able to use Turkish ports, Turkish vessels will be barred from docking in Israel, and Israeli or Israel-bound arms-carrying aircraft will be denied entry into Turkish airspace. These measures mark the most explicit confirmation yet of the total suspension of trade with Israel.
