Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has hinted that Turkey may consider imposing a ban on imports of some Israeli goods in protest against the killings of Palestinian protesters by Israeli forces on the Gaza border, according to media reports Tuesday.
Dozens of Palestinians were killed and thousands wounded during violent demonstrations organized by Hamas on the border in recent weeks. Protesters tried to breach the border fence and infiltrate Israel and have been using makeshift incendiary devices to start fires in Israeli territory.
Erdogan, who is campaigning for re-election in June, last week hosted a summit of Muslim leaders, who condemned the violence in Gaza as well as the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.
Speaking to reporters on a flight home from Bosnia on Sunday, Erdogan said the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation had recommended that a boycott be imposed on Israeli goods.
"I hope that OIC member countries implement a boycott decision in line with the recommendation," Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper quoted Erdogan as saying. "Consequently, no product should be brought from there anymore. Naturally, we will assess this situation in the same way."
The OIC on Friday issued a declaration repeating a call for countries to ban "products of the illegal Israeli settlements from entering their markets," referring to goods manufactured in Judea and Samaria and the Golan Heights. It did not seek a ban on all Israeli goods.
The declaration also called for "economic restrictions [on] countries, officials, parliaments, companies or individuals" who follow the U.S. lead and relocate their embassies to Jerusalem.
U.S. President Donald Trump's move to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and relocate the U.S. Embassy there upended decades of U.S. policy, which operated under the premise that the status of Jerusalem can only be decided in direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. The Palestinians, who envision parts of Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state were outraged by Trump's decision to recognize the city as the capital of Israel. Many in the Arab world and even the U.S.'s Western allies were also angered by the move.
Erdogan said last week that Trump's move had emboldened Israel to use excessive force to crack down on the Gaza border protests, likening Israel's actions to Nazi Germany's treatment of Jews in World War II.
The violence in Gaza led to Turkey and Israel expelling each other's senior diplomats. Erdogan also traded barbs on Twitter with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel was the 10th largest market for Turkish exports in 2017, buying some $3.4 billion of goods, according to International Monetary Fund statistics.
Data from Turkey's statistics institute showed that the trade volume between the two was $4.9 billion in 2017. Turkey has a trade surplus with Israel and imports plastics and mineral oils, among other goods, from there.
Erdogan said Turkey would reconsider its ties with Israel.
"We will put our relations on the table, in particular our economic and trade relations. We have an election ahead of us. After the election we will take our steps in this direction," Erdogan was quoted as saying.
