Turkey's move to halt all trade with Israel came amid mounting domestic pressure on Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government to take a firmer stance against a major economic partner over the devastating war in Gaza.
The move adds to previous curbs imposed by Ankara last month on key exports such as cement, steel and aviation fuel.
Although Turkey and Israel have not officially downgraded diplomatic ties, halting trade represents a significant step towards minimising contact between the two nations.
“Export and import transactions related to Israel have been stopped, covering all products,” Turkey’s Trade Ministry said in a statement late on Thursday.
“Turkey will strictly and decisively implement these new measures until the Israeli government allows an uninterrupted and sufficient flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza.” It did not specify the quantity of aid that it would consider sufficient to roll back the restrictions.
On Friday afternoon, Israel's Foreign Ministry responded to Turkey's ban, vowing to limit trade with Palestinians and to have sanctions imposed on Ankara for pulling out of trade agreements.
In a statement, the Ministry said it would take measures to reduce trade between Turkey, Gaza, and the Palestinian Authority, claiming that Turkey is the PA's largest trade partner.
Israel will also appeal to international economic forums to examine sanctions against Turkey for violating trade agreements, and Israel's Foreign Minister has asked the far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to put forward an aid package for export sectors in Israel that may be harmed by the Turkish decision.
"We will not give in to Erdogan's blackmail and threats. The Israeli economy is stronger than a dictator like Erdogan who violates agreements and works in the service of Hamas," Mr Katz said in the statement.
"Those who take unilateral steps against the Israeli economy will receive a painful and appropriate answer. Erdogan wants to hurt Israel, but will mainly hurt the Palestinian economy," he added.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to questions about whether Turkey had informed Israel of the trade restrictions before they became public.
Domestic political pressure was thought to have been a significant factor in Mr Erdogan’s government taking more practical measures to reduce ties with Israel. The President’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) suffered its biggest defeat in local elections this year, losing votes to more conservative Islamist parties who criticised Mr Erdogan for not cutting Turkey’s links with Israel.
While Turkey’s statement suggests the ban is temporary, observers warn it will damage the country’s reputation as a trustworthy partner.
“The blow to trust and the fact that Turkey's reliability as a trade partner is now in question will for sure cause long-term damage, and Israeli unwillingness to forget what happened and return to square one,” Gallia Lindenstrauss, a senior research fellow at the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies, told The National.
Turkey and Israel have had a free-trade agreement in place since 1997 and major trade items include steel, oil and plastic.
Despite exchanges of bitter rhetoric since the Gaza war broke out on October 7 and the halting of flights between Istanbul and Tel Aviv, the two nations have remained economic partners. Trade volume between the two topped $7 billion last year, according to UN and Turkish Statistical Institute figures. Turkish exports to Israel represent about three quarters of the total trade.
The Turkish Trade Ministry did not say whether the restrictions extend to banning crude oil exports from Azerbaijan to Israel that transit through Turkey. Socar, the Azerbaijani state oil company, did not respond to a request for comment.
Other new developments are likely to affect the relationship. This week Turkey announced it would submit an intervention at the International Court of Justice to support South Africa’s case against Israel, and a Turkish man who entered Israel as a tourist was killed by security forces in Jerusalem after attempting to stab an Israeli policeman.
Turkey’s Trade Ministry on Thursday night said it was working with the Palestinian Ministry of National Economy to ensure Gazans would not be affected by the halt in trade with Israel, which controls the Palestinian Territories’ borders.
The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
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UAE%20SQUAD
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Gertrude Bell's life in focus
A feature film
At one point, two feature films were in the works, but only German director Werner Herzog’s project starring Nicole Kidman would be made. While there were high hopes he would do a worthy job of directing the biopic, when Queen of the Desert arrived in 2015 it was a disappointment. Critics panned the film, in which Herzog largely glossed over Bell’s political work in favour of her ill-fated romances.
A documentary
A project that did do justice to Bell arrived the next year: Sabine Krayenbuhl and Zeva Oelbaum’s Letters from Baghdad: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Gertrude Bell. Drawing on more than 1,000 pieces of archival footage, 1,700 documents and 1,600 letters, the filmmakers painstakingly pieced together a compelling narrative that managed to convey both the depth of Bell’s experience and her tortured love life.
Books, letters and archives
Two biographies have been written about Bell, and both are worth reading: Georgina Howell’s 2006 book Queen of the Desert and Janet Wallach’s 1996 effort Desert Queen. Bell published several books documenting her travels and there are also several volumes of her letters, although they are hard to find in print. Original documents are housed at the Gertrude Bell Archive at the University of Newcastle, which has an online catalogue.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Prop idols
Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.
Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)
An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.
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Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)
Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.
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Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)
Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.
Results
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