Turkey tightens embargo on Israel

Turkey has decided to halt the movement of Turkish ships to Israel altogether, including those carrying goods bound for the Palestinian Authority, “Globes” has learned. The measure comes fifteen months after Turkey imposed an embargo on trade with Israel.

From now onwards, any direct passage of ships from Turkey to Israel is completely banned, and ships carrying the Turkish flag are required not to dock in Israel. Cargo ships will have to provide documents to the Turkish authorities which will examine them to see whether they come to Israel routinely. The movement of ships “with Israeli connections” will probably be accepted, if the cargo is not handled in Turkey.

RELATED ARTICLES

In general, no cargo activity with an Israeli connection will be accepted, including containers. The direct implication is that the Turks have also decided to forego the movement of goods to the Palestinian Authority, which takes place through Israeli ports. The Turkish decision puts in grave doubt Turkey’s ability to transfer humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, since this mostly goes through Ashdod.

A former important trading partner

According to a Bank of Israel report in March, goods imports from Turkey in 2023 totaled $5.3 billion, 6.3% of total imports. Direct purchases from Turkey amounted to $4.6 billion, while at least $660 million worth of goods made in Turkey were imported through third party countries.

Turkey was an important source of building materials for Israel. Half of Israel’s imports of cement and plaster, and a fifth of imported iron and steel, came from Turkey. Israel also imported large quantities of Turkish plastic and plastic products, vehicles, machinery, and electromechanical products.

The value of Israeli exports to Turkey was much smaller, at $1.5 billion in 2023, 2.5% of all goods exports. The main items exported to Turkey were chemicals, plastics, and waste metal. Exports of business services to Turkey and Turkish tourism in Israel were negligible, leaving Israel with an overall bilateral trade deficit.

Following the imposition of the Turkish embargo in May 2024, Israeli exports to Turkey that year fell by about $1 billion in comparison with 2023. This contributed to a general decline in exports of chemical products in 2024, but the effect on other industries was small.

Imports of Turkish goods fell from $550 million monthly at the beginning of 2024 to $100-200 million monthly by the end of the year. Official Turkish figures indicate a complete halt in exports to Israel, in accordance with government policy.

Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on August 21, 2025.

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2025.