The Turkish President says that he will no longer ‘continue and develop relations’ in the future with Israel.

Recep Tayyip Erdoan, the Turkish president, announced Wednesday that Turkey had severed all relations with Israel.

Erdogan spoke to journalists on board his plane after visits to Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan.

Erdogan stated that the government of the Republic of Turkey under Tayyip Erdogan will not develop or continue relations with Israel.

“[Our ruling alliance] is resolutely in its decision of cutting ties with Israel and we will continue to maintain this position in the future.”

“We as the Republic of Turkey, and its government have severed all relations with Israel at this time.”

Ankara maintains diplomatic relations with Israel despite imposing an embargo against the country in May.

The Turkish diplomatic missions remain operational in Tel Aviv, despite the formal recall of its ambassador by the Turkish government last year.

Israel also evacuated its Ankara embassy last year citing regional threats.

Erdogan said that Turkey will do all it can to hold Israeli Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu responsible for the actions he took in Gaza which international human rights organizations have called genocide.

Earlier this summer, the Turkish government intervened at the International Court of Justice in a case of genocide against Israel in support of Palestine. They also advocated an arms embargo on Tel Aviv.

Erdogan said that 52 countries, as well as two international organizations, had shown their support for an arms embargo initiative Turkey initiated at the United Nations early in November. The initiative was aimed at preventing weapons and ammunition from being shipped to Israel.

Erdogan stated that “we recently sent our formal letter about this initiative to both the President of the United Nations Security Council as well as the Secretary-General of the United Nations.”

“During our Riyadh summit, we decided to invite all Arab League members and organisations to sign this open letter.”

Turkish-Israeli relations

The Turkish-Israeli relationship has deteriorated dramatically since the September last year meeting between Erdogan in New York and Netanyahu, which was meant to symbolize reconciliation between both nations.

Ankara’s criticism of Netanyahu has increased following the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023, and Israel’s subsequent conflict on Gaza that has resulted in the deaths of more than 43,000 Palestinians.

It led to a number of legal and economic sanctions, particularly after the local election in Turkey, where Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party, the ruling party, was punished for its lackluster response to the Gaza war.

Since September, the ongoing Turkish trade with Israel via third countries, and Palestine, has sparked public pressure campaigns by the opposition. They accused Erdogan of not closing loopholes which facilitate continued interaction.