Responding to reports that Turkey exported arms to Israel contrary to Ankara’s political rhetoric on the war in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) has stated that the weapons components and firearms exported from Turkey to Israel in 2023 were “non-military.”
Israel began pounding Gaza after Hamas militants carried out an unprecedented attack in the country on October 7, killing some 1,200 people and taking more than 200 hostage. Israeli airstrikes and ground attacks on Gaza have so far claimed the lives of more than 25,000 people, according to the local authorities, in addition to leading to vast destruction in the enclave.
The statement came in response to a report by the 10Haber news website about Turkey’s exports of firearms to Israel, particularly during a period of heightened conflict in Gaza.
According to TurkStat, during the January-November period of 2023, exports to Israel under “Chapter 93” amounted to a total of $902,702, with $80,000 in November alone.
Chapter 93 is a classification under the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, generally referred to as the “Harmonized System” or simply “HS,” a multipurpose international product nomenclature developed by the World Customs Organization (WCO). Arms and ammunition and parts and accessories fall under this chapter.
There are several headings under Chapter 93, such as 9301 for military weapons excluding revolvers and pistols, 9302 for revolvers and pistols not covered under other specific headings and 9303 for various other firearms like sporting rifles and signal flare projectors. The category also includes 9304 for items such as spring guns and truncheons, 9305 for parts and accessories of items from 9301 to 9304, 9306 for war munitions like bombs and grenades, and 9307 for edged weapons such as swords and bayonets.
TurkStat says Turkey’s exports are headings 9303, which TurkStat calls “non-military firearms,” 9305 and 9307.
TurkStat’s detailed table shows that a total of $902,702 in exports under Chapter 93 were sent to Israel up until November 2023. The institute claims that the exported products under this category are not weapons of war or ammunition but rather personal use items such as sports and hunting weapons, along with their components and parts.
What is hidden between the lines is that heading 9305 can actually be parts of military weapons, according to the HS.
Even if the figures seem modest, and even if one is to take TurkStat’s word for the weapons exports’ “non-military” nature, Turkey’s weapons parts and firearms exports to Israel are still significant in the context of the ongoing Israeli-settler violence in the West Bank, which, according to various international organizations, has increased significantly since October 7.
Firearms sales are tightly restricted in Israel, and obtaining a civilian gun license is not easy.
However, Israeli settlers have been arming themselves in record numbers with the blessing of their government since October 7.
Gun stores and shooting ranges are working overtime to meet the sudden demand.
In short, Turkish companies are supplying weapons to Israel that are likely to be used by settlers whose actions against Palestinians are condemned by the entire international community (including Israel), regardless of their stance on the Gaza conflict, while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan presents himself as a champion of the Palestinian cause.
Previous reports revealed that companies with close ties to Erdoğan, including those belonging to his son Burak Erdoğan‘s trade partner and former prime minister Binali Yıldırım’s son Erkam Yıldırım, continue to engage in significant trade with Israel, including the export of steel and other materials.