Turkey has refuted charges of military coordination with Israel, despite certain media outlets reporting that the country continues to supply gunpowder, guns, and ammunition to Israel.
According to Trading Economics, the country sent about $319 million worth of commodities to Israel in January, including precious metals, chemicals, pesticides, nuclear reactor parts, gunpowder, explosives, airplane parts, and weapons and ammunition.
According to reports, Turkish trade activity with Israel is primarily driven by companies affiliated with the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (MUSIAD), which is known for supporting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan but these claims have been strongly denied by Ankara.
The ministry noted that Israel’s war on Gaza has targeted hospitals, schools, places of worship, refugee camps and civilians.
The Turkish Communications Directorate’s Centre for Countering Disinformation (TCDCCD) had also refuted the allegations by examining the social media posts.
“The products in the 93rd chapter of the alleged export list are not war weapons and ammunition but ungrooved rifle spare parts and accessories and fishing equipment used for individual purposes such as sports and hunting,” TCDCCD said on X. The products exported under the military goods category were “gel fuel and lighter fluid” in the 36th chapter of the export list.
The organisation has also included data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TURKSTAT), saying there have been no exports of rifles for sports and hunting purposes since May 2023, which already had low figures.
Turkey, a NATO member, has condemned Israel’s war on Gaza, with Erdogan referring to Hamas as a liberation group rather than a “terrorist organization,” and Ankara withdrawing its ambassador to Israel.
Turkey and Israel have partnered on security concerns for decades, but under Erdogan, relations have deteriorated due to the president’s support for the Palestinian cause and continuous Israeli crimes against Palestinians.
Relations deteriorated significantly following the 2010 Gaza flotilla raid, in which Israeli commandos killed nine Turkish pro-Palestine activists. Another flotilla member died in hospital after a four-year coma.
