TEHRAN - While Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan talks about filing a complaint against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), his government has taken no formal action. On the contrary, it appears that trade between Turkey and the Zionist regime is flourishing via third-party countries.

“We will come one night, suddenly,” was the phrase Erdogan used last year to show his backing for Gaza against the Zionist regime. He wanted to highlight his opposition to Israel and his support for the occupied al-Quds (Jerusalem) to the Turkish public.

There has been a lot of media spotlight on Erdogan’s regular criticism of Israel, though these rebukes have mostly been verbal and lack any practical measures. 

Although officials in Ankara have tried to condemn the Zionist regime’s actions and fully support Palestine in the past year, the question remains: to what extent has Turkey’s ruling party, the Justice and Development Party, followed through on its anti-Israeli rhetoric when it comes to actual policy? 

In this report, we will examine Turkey’s stance on the Palestinian issue over the past year:

From calls for restraint to personal criticism of Netanyahu

In the early days of Operation al-Aqsa Storm and Israel’s response, including attacks on Gaza, Ankara’s officials merely called on Hamas and Israel to exercise restraint. However, as Israeli forces continued killing civilians in Gaza, Erdogan expressed his support for Hamas and stressed that it is not a terrorist group.

He directed his criticism solely on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. It’s important to note that personalizing issues is a frequent tactic of the Turkish government. 

For instance, Erdogan often levels personal attacks on his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron without targeting the French government. 

Erdogan similarly blames Netanyahu for Israel’s assaults on Palestinians, preferring to criticize him rather than the regime’s broader ideology. 

Just like in 2009, when Erdogan publicly and directly criticized Shimon Peres at the Davos summit, calling Israel a “child killer” regime in a bid to portray himself as a national hero. A similar tactic is being followed now. 

However, the ongoing Ankara-Tel Aviv trade relations caused the Turkish public to doubt Erdogan’s sincerity.

From pro-Gaza rallies to continued trade with Israel

About 21 days into Israel’s attacks on Gaza (which started in October last year), Ankara decided to hold large-scale rallies in support of the Palestinian people.  Yet, these rallies were met with criticism. The Turkish public and even political circles believed that mere rallies were not enough and that trade relations with Israel should be severed. 

However, the Justice and Development Party, ignoring the complaints, argued that trade and politics are separate issues and chose to maintain economic ties as before. 

In 2023, official statistics showed that trade between Ankara and Tel Aviv amounted to $6.8 billion, a large portion of which was Turkish exports. According to these figures, seven commercial ships traveled daily from Turkey to Israel.

Following the Justice and Development Party’s defeat in the 2023 municipal elections, the Islamic and conservative bodies began distancing themselves from the party.

Many shifted toward the New Welfare Party as its leader Fatih Erbakan condemned Erdogan’s policy on Palestine. 

This pushed Erdogan to seriously consider severing trade ties with Israel. As a result, Turkey officially announced that as of May 2, 2024, trade with the Zionist regime would come to an end.

Though on the surface trade between Ankara and Tel Aviv has stopped, it seems that trade relations are continuing through third countries. 

It appears that Ankara is bypassing restrictions by trading with the West Bank based Palestinian Authority while continuing exports to Tel Aviv.

For example, Turkey-Palestine trade in June amounted to $61.28 million, rising to $128.89 million in July 2024. 

In August, trade reached $138.34 million. However, reports indicate that Turkish companies still trading with Israel declare Palestine as the destination in documents at customs, but the ships change course to Tel Aviv after departure.

Furthermore, Azerbaijan’s oil exports to Israel via Turkey’s Ceyhan port is still flowing. 

Protests at the port demanding an end to the exports has been met with silence by the Turkish government. 

Notably, on July 20, the Altay cargo ship, which claimed to be sailing to Jordan, ended up at Haifa port.

The role of Kürecik and Incirlik bases in the Gaza war

It’s important not to limit Erdogan’s policies during the war on Gaza to Turkey’s trade relations with the occupying regime. 

For instance, Turkey’s Kürecik and Incirlik bases play key roles in facilitating Israel’s war efforts in Gaza and the region. A significant portion of Israel’s military supplies comes from the United States, with much of this transported through Incirlik airbase.

Turkey has taken no action to halt Incirlik’s operations or prevent weapons being flown from Turkish soil. 

Additionally, the Kürecik radar systems indirectly provide military intelligence to Israel via the U.S. Again, Erdogan has taken no measures to end this, despite numerous protests by the Turkish public against these military facilities.

Trump-like lies

Many political and media commentators view former U.S. President Donald Trump as a deceitful politician, having told an estimated 30,000 lies during his four-year term. 

But Erdogan’s falsehoods on Gaza are not far behind. For instance, Erdogan and other Turkish officials claimed they would file a lawsuit against Israel at the ICJ. 

Interestingly, before attending a NATO summit, Erdogan announced he would raise the plight of the Palestinians, but none of the summit’s statements mentioned Palestine. 

Additionally, Erdogan said in his speech at the same NATO summit that Turkey, along with South Africa, had filed a lawsuit against Israel in The Hague, while South Africa had pursued the legal process independently.

South Africa filed the genocide lawsuit against Israel in early January this year, but Turkish officials only announced their intention to join this legal case in March. 

Erdogan’s claim of collaborating with South Africa on the lawsuit is false, and Turkey has yet to file any official complaint against Israel.