Bloomberg Sources: Turkey Halts Trade Relations with Israel; Yisrael Katz: This is 'Dictatorial Behavior'

Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz stated on Thursday that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has violated agreements by blocking ports to Israeli imports and exports. According to Reuters, Katz wrote on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter): 'This is the behavior of a dictator who disregards the interests of the Turkish people and merchants... and international trade agreements.' Katz mentioned that he has instructed his ministry to seek alternatives to trade with Turkey by focusing on domestic production and imports from other countries. Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing two Turkish officials, that Turkey has halted all exports and imports with Israel. The trade volume between the two countries reached $6.8 billion in 2023. Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli police shot dead a Turkish citizen who attacked a police officer in Jerusalem with a knife. Following the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people and the kidnapping of over 250 others, Israel launched an assault on Gaza aimed at destroying this Iran-backed Islamist group and recovering the hostages. Hamas officials have repeatedly stated since the October 7 attack that they would carry out similar attacks if possible. The United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Japan, Israel, and several other countries have listed Hamas as a terrorist organization. The Turkish assailant 'armed with a knife' was killed by Israeli forces in Jerusalem. The Mayor of Istanbul, a rival of Erdogan, called Hamas a 'terrorist organization.'