19/8/2024–|Last update: 8/19/202406:06 PM (Makkah Time)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich have backed down from imposing a complete ban on imports from Turkey, including those destined for Palestinian importers (in the Palestinian Authority territories), Yedioth Ahronoth reported.
The decision was made after Finance Ministry officials realized that a complete ban on Turkish imports would be “absolute folly that would hurt the Israeli economy much more than the Turkish economy,” the newspaper quoted a senior official as saying.
The government was scheduled to approve – yesterday, Sunday – the extension of previous decisions to ban all imports from Turkey, including those directed to the Palestinian Authority.
The Israeli ban on Turkish goods came in response to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s announcement of a trade embargo on Israel in May.
Nevertheless, Turkish exports to the Palestinian Authority continued, and a large proportion made their way to the Israeli market through indirect channels.
How to turn around
According to the newspaper, Israel circumvented the ban on Turkish exports according to these steps:
- The goods left Türkiye with shipping documents supposedly destined for the Palestinian Authority areas.
- Once the goods were loaded, these documents were replaced with others bearing the names of Israeli importers.
- Palestinian merchants collect a fee (commission) ranging between 3% and 5% of the value of the goods for this service.
- As a result, Turkish imports did not reach the Palestinian territories, but went directly to the Israeli ports of Ashdod and Haifa.
Turkish exports to Israel are currently valued at around $1.7 billion this year, compared to around $5 billion last year.
Preparing the decision
It is noteworthy that the Israeli National Security Council has been preparing in recent weeks a comprehensive decision to ban all Turkish imports, including those intended for the Palestinian Authority, to stop what they considered fraud through the exchange of shipping documents.
Meanwhile, businesses have been lobbying the Finance and Economy Ministries to halt the sweeping ban, arguing that Israel desperately needs to import thousands of essential products and that the proposed decision would severely damage the Israeli economy.
By mid-week, senior Finance Ministry officials had succeeded in convincing Finance Minister Smotrich that the decision would be counterproductive and would cause more harm than good.
Following this, senior officials urgently contacted the Deputy Director General of the Prime Minister’s Office, Amir Barkan, asking him to intervene with Netanyahu to stop approval of the National Security Council proposal, which had strong support from National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi and Netanyahu.
As a result, the government meeting on Friday was canceled, allowing the continued import of thousands of Turkish goods into Israel, ostensibly intended for importers in the Palestinian Authority.
Almost all government ministers had supported the idea of a complete ban on Turkish goods, and most of them had not yet been informed that under pressure from the Ministry of Finance the discussion and decision to expand the ban completely had been cancelled.
Shahar Turgeman, chairman of the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce, commented on the decision, saying, “We are grateful to the prime minister and the finance minister for their decision not to punish Israeli consumers and to abandon the idea of a complete ban on Turkish imports. As we have said all along, a trade war at this time is unnecessary and will ultimately lead to an acceleration of the rise in the cost of living.”
