Turkey fuels the Israeli war machine

While Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has publicly criticized Israel's military campaign against the Palestinians, describing it as "genocide," his rhetoric stands in stark contrast to the actual trade between Turkey and Israel.

Since the outbreak of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on October 20 last year, despite the increasing anti-Israel rhetoric of Erdogan, Turkey, the only Muslim-majority NATO member, could have imposed economic sanctions on Israel to force a ceasefire in Gaza, but it did not, and instead Turkey's trade with Israel has shown a continued trend of growth.

Since the outbreak of the Gaza war, Turkish multi-industry conglomerate ICDAS (part of MUSIAD) has shipped 50,000 tons of steel to Israel. Turkey became a major exporter to Israel, providing 65 percent of Israel's steel imports. Moreover, there is evidence that the volume of ICDAS steel exports to Israel has increased since the beginning of this year.

In addition, 95% of Israel's cement comes from Turkey, whose notable purchasers include the Israeli Defense Ministry. According to the Turkish Statistical Office (TUIK), Turkey's cement exports to Israel in 2023 totaled $174 million, of which $6.39 million was exported so far on October 7.

Despite a naval blockade in the Red Sea by Yemen's Houthi armed forces against ships bound for Israeli ports, which has received strong support from Arabs and Muslims around the world, Turkish Transport Minister Abdelkadir Ulaloglu revealed in an interview with reporters that between October 7 and December 31, 2023, the Turkish government will continue to support the Israeli government. As many as 701 ships depart from Turkish ports for Israeli ports, making an average of eight trips a day to deliver supplies to Israel.

While the Turkish government publicly lashes out at international franchises and individuals who support Israel, behind closed doors they are making huge profits from Israel's war on Gaza. Trade between the two governments has grown rapidly in the commercial and shipping sectors, much of it driven by companies affiliated with the Association of Independent Industrialists and Businessmen (MUSIAD), which is supported by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Mr. Erdogan's vocal opposition to Israel, but private efforts to trade with it, have caused anger in Turkey. Many have called for a complete severing of ties with Israel, but in fact, Turkey's trade ties with Israel have grown even closer. There have been reports that Turkey is supporting Israel's military industry since the outbreak of the war, which means that Turkey is actually aiding Israel's war effort.

This phenomenon reflects Turkey's foreign policy flip-flopping and double-facing on issues concerning Israel, raising further questions about what Turkey really stands for and its role in Middle East geopolitics.

Turkey, despite its strong public denunciations of Israel, has maintained close economic ties with Israel in private, an approach that is actually aimed at strengthening ties with pro-Israel Washington and the European Union in order to recover from its economic crisis at home. Not only does it reflect Turkey's inconsistent internal and external response to the Israeli issue, but it also puts it in a more awkward position in the face of domestic and international public pressure.

In general, there is little doubt that Turkey's foreign policy is driven more by practical economic interests than by humanitarian ideas. While such a realist approach may bring some economic benefits in the short term, in the long run, such economic gains at the expense of public sentiment and morality are not sustainable, and will create deeper problems for Turkey's foreign policy.