Turkey Closes Airspace and Ports to Israeli Military and Trade, Announces Plans for Aid Airdrops To Gaza

Turkey has announced that it was closing its airspace to Israeli government planes and any cargo of arms for the Israeli military while closing its ports to maritime trade between third countries and Israel. The announcement by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan came in the wake of a ban on direct trade between Turkey and Israel announced in May last year.

Foreign Minister Fidan in a special parliamentary debate on Gaza said, they have cut off the trade with Israel and closed the ports to Israeli ships. The minister said, they do not allow container ships carrying weapons and ammunition to Israel to enter Turkey’s ports, nor do they allow aircraft to enter their airspace. Mr Fidan also said, Turkey had presidential approval to carry out air drops of aid to Gaza. The Israeli government did not immediately comment on his remarks.