Istanbul, Turkey (AP) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashed out at Israel on Friday, accusing the country of becoming a “dictatorship” after Turkey suspended trade ties with Israel over its military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
The escalating war of words came as Turkey joined an international chorus of condemnation over Israel’s lethal strikes in Gaza that have killed dozens of Palestinians. Turkey’s trade ministry announced it was suspending its economic relations with Israel, valued at $7 billion annually.
“Israel has now become a dictatorship state. They are mercilessly bombing civilians in Gaza,” Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul. He claimed Israel was “massacring” Palestinians and acting “against humanity.”
The Turkish leader, who has positioned himself as a vocal defender of Palestinian rights, accused Israel of rejecting calls for de-escalation along the Gaza border. The United Nations has warned that Israel’s strikes on the densely populated Rafah area could become a “massacre.”
Israel fired back, with a Foreign Ministry statement calling Erdogan a “dictator” who is only concerned with inflating his image in the Islamic world while ignoring the plight of his own people suffering from 70% inflation and growing poverty.
The war of words reflects the severely strained relations between the two former allies. Turkey was the first Muslim-majority nation to recognize Israel in 1949, and the countries had close military and economic ties for decades.
However, Turkey has become one of Israel’s harshest critics in recent years over its treatment of Palestinians. In 2010, Israeli commandos killed nine Turkish activists in a raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla, triggering a years-long bitter rift.
Major international companies like Starbucks have also faced boycotts and economic blowback across the Muslim world for being perceived as supportive of Israel during the recent flare-up of violence. Starbucks’ stock has fallen 15% amid calls by its own workers to support Palestinian rights.
As the death toll mounts in Gaza, the boycott movement appears to be gaining steam across Muslim nations seeking to economically isolate Israel over the coastal strip’s bombings. Whether Erdogan’s move to cut trade flows will pressure Israel remains to be seen.
