Turkiye has decided to restrict the export of certain products to Israel as it “continues to flagrantly violate international law and ignores the international community's numerous calls for ceasefire and uninterrupted humanitarian aid,” the Turkish Trade Ministry announced in a statement on Tuesday.
The goods include several types of aluminum and steel products, paint, electric cables, construction materials, motor oil and aviation fuel, according to the statement.
The statement comes as French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne called for slapping “multiple levers of influence” on Israel to supply much-needed
aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
He recalled that France was one of the first countries to urge the EU to sanction “Israeli settlers who are committing acts of violence in the West Bank,” adding that Paris “will continue if needed to obtain the opening of humanitarian aid."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come under pressure from his allies over the Jewish state's deadly
airstrike on a convoy of the US-based international volunteer aid organization World Central Kitchen (WCK).
US President Joe Biden, for his part, made it plain that Israel must commit to protecting civilians and aid workers, as well as delivering more humanitarian aid, or risk losing Washington’s support.
In a separate development last week, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) accused Israel of continuing to prevent its teams from accessing northern Gaza to provide “food aid and other essential supplies."
The UNRWA added that its workers "delivered more than half of the UN aid provided to Gaza through the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings in March," noting that 176 agency employees "tragically" lost their lives since the beginning of the Israeli offensive in Gaza on October 7, 2023.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini, in turn, warned that Israel’s "outrageous" move to block the agency’s aid could lead to "man-made famine" in Gaza.