How effective is Turkey’s ban on trade with Israel?

For years, Israel and Turkey have been crucial trade partners.

It was a commercial relationship worth nearly seven billion dollar a year. But Israel’s war on Gaza changed all that.

The Turkish government has been demanding a halt to the violence that’s killed nearly 35,000 Palestinians in seven months

And the Turkish president condemned Israel’s decision to block its aid meant for Gaza last month. Recep Tayyip Erdogan has now announced a total trade ban until Israel agrees to a ceasefire.

But has he acted under domestic pressure, after a setback in local elections was blamed partly on the country continuing to do business with Israel? And how will this affect the economies of both sides?

Presenter: Neave Barker

Guests:

Vehbi Baysan – Political analyst and assistant professor at İbn Haldun University

Gideon Levy – Author and columnist at Haaretz

Vladimir Vano – Chief economist at international think tank, GLOBSEC