'Won’t Continue': Turkey Severs All Diplomatic Ties with Israel

Ankara: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Wednesday that Turkey has cut all ties with Israel. He me statement to journalists on his plane after visiting Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan.

“ government of Republic of Turkey, under leership of Tayyip Erdogan, will not continue or develop relations with Israel,” Erdogan said.

“[Our ruling coalition] is resolute in its decision to cut ties with Israel, and we will maintain this stance in future as well.”, he ded.

Despite imposing a tre embargo on Israel in May, Ankara has continued to maintain diplomatic relations with country.

Turkish government recalled its ambassor for consultations last year but, Turkish diplomatic missions in Tel Aviv remain open and operational.

Similarly, Israel withdrew its embassy staff from Ankara last year, citing security threats in region.

Erdogan also stressed  that Turkey would take all necessary measures to hold Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accountable for his actions in Gaza, which international human rights organizations have condemned as genocide.

Earlier this year, Turkey intervened in a genocide case against Israel at International Court of Justice (ICJ) in support of Palestine and called for an arms embargo on Tel Aviv.

Erdogan said that 52 countries and two international organizations h backed Turkey's arms embargo initiative, launched at United Nations in early November, to prevent shipment of weapons and ammunition to Israel.

"We recently submitted our formal letter regarding this initiative to president of United Nations Security Council and secretary-general of United Nations," Erdogan said.

"During our summit in Riyh, a decision was me to invite all organisations and members of Arab League to sign this letter.", he ded.

Israel-Turkey Relations

relations between Israel and Turkey have gone down sharply since a meeting between Erdogan and Netanyahu in New York in September of last year, which was intended to symbolise reunion between two nations.

After Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and Israel's subsequent military operation in Gaza, which has led to over 43,000 civilian deaths, Ankara increased its criticism of Netanyahu government.

This prompted a series of actions, including legal measures and tre sanctions, particularly after Turkey's local elections, where Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) faced backlash for its perceived weak response to Gaza conflict.

ongoing Turkish tre with Israel through third countries and Palestine has sparked a public pressure campaign by opposition since September, who accused Erdogan of failing to close loopholes that facilitate continued interaction.