Watan-Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Monday that Israel rejected Turkey’s request to join in the airdrop of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, and Ankara will take new measures against Israel in response.
Turkey, which condemned Israel’s attack on the densely populated Gaza Strip and called for an immediate ceasefire, has sent tens of thousands of tons of humanitarian aid there since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7.
According to al-monitor, Fidan said: “Today we learned that our request, which was welcomed by Jordanian authorities, was rejected by Israel.”
He continued: “There can be no excuse for Israel preventing us from dropping aid to Gaza, which is suffering from famine. In response, we have decided to take a series of new measures against Israel.”
#عاجل وزير الخارجية التركية هاكان فيدان:
📌قررنا اتخاذ سلسلة من الإجراءات ضد إسرائيل.
📌سيتم التنفيذ خطوة بخطوة دون تأخير. وستستمر هذه الإجراءات حتى تعلن إسرائيل وقف إطلاق النار وادخال المساعدات الى غزة دون انقطاع.#غزة_تنتصر 🇹🇷🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/agrbdywIff
— Muhammet Erdoğan 🇹🇷- محمد أردوغان (@Muhamed_Erdogan) April 8, 2024
The United States began airdropping aid shipments to Gaza last month, with contributions from the Netherlands, France, Spain, and other countries.
Fidan, without delving into details, said, “These measures approved by our president will be implemented step by step without delay.”
Fidan refrained from specifying the measures to be taken, saying they would be announced later.
He added that “the measures to be announced by our relevant institutions will continue until Israel declares a ceasefire and allows humanitarian aid to reach Gaza without interruption.”
42 tons of aid
“These measures approved by our president will be implemented step by step without delay,” he continued. “They will be shared with the public through our relevant institutions.”
He added that the unspecified measures will continue until “Israel declares a ceasefire and allows humanitarian aid to reach Gaza without interruption.”
The Turkish minister said Turkey has become the second largest aid provider to Gaza, contributing more than 42 tons of aid, with the ninth Turkish aid ship on its way to the region.
This announcement comes amid popular pressure on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government regarding trade relations between Turkey and Israel. Dozens of citizens gathered in Taksim Square in central Istanbul last Saturday demanding the Turkish government cut trade ties with Israel.
In his remarks on Monday, Fidan implicitly responded to those criticisms, saying his country “did not remain silent about what is happening in Gaza. We took the most correct and courageous stance under the leadership of our president.”