Security guards at a port in İstanbul fired into the air on Thursday during a protest over the docking of vessels belonging to Israeli shipping company ZIM, with demonstrators demanding an end to the Israeli presence in Turkish ports, the Karar daily reported on Friday.
The incident took place at the Port of Ambarlı, a major Turkish seaport situated on the northern shore of the Sea of Marmara.
According to Karar, a ZIM shipping vessel, which has been docking at various Turkish ports for days, arrived at the Port of Ambarlı on Thursday evening. A pro-Palestinian group gathered in protest, chanting, “No Zionism in our ports” as they demonstrated against the presence of Israeli shipping containers.
Tensions escalated between the protestors and port security guards, who fired warning shots into the air in an attempt to disperse the crowd. Police then intervened, blocking protestors from approaching the ZIM containers and securing the area.
Turkey is accused of continuing its trade with Israel despite imposing a ban in May after a public outcry over Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
Investigative journalist Metin Cihan claims, based on official data, that trade with Israel continues under the pretext of trade with Palestine, which has skyrocketed over the past months.
Cihan noted in early October that export data from August and September 2024, released by the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM), showed a dramatic rise in exports to Palestine, fuelling speculation that Turkish goods might be reaching Israel through Palestinian territories despite a government-imposed trade ban.
Cihan further revealed last month, citing open-source data, that vessels belonging to Israeli shipping firm ZIM remain active in Turkish waters despite the ban. The journalist said that despite protests against ZIM, a publicly held Israeli company and one of the top 20 global carriers, by pro-Palestinian activists in many countries such as Belgium, the US, Canada and Malaysia, one of the countries in which ZIM ships operate most easily is Turkey, where their activities continue without disruption in ports in İstanbul, İzmir, Kocaeli, Bursa and Mersin.
These developments follow a recent statement from the Turkish Trade Ministry reaffirming that trade with Israel is not permitted and denying claims that such trade continues indirectly through third countries.
Misvak, Turkey’s most popular ultra-Islamist humor magazine, has accused the Trade Ministry of permitting trade with Israel despite the ban announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, suggesting that the president is unaware of the ongoing transactions.
“The public is waiting for an explanation from you, Trade Ministry! Immediately fulfill the President’s directive and halt trade with Israel!” Misvak tweeted.
Duyarlı Halk, Ambarlı Limanı’ndan İsrail’e giden konteynerleri engellemek için protesto düzenledi, liman güvenlikleri havaya ateş açtı !
Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan’ın “İsrail’e ticareti kestik” açıklamasına rağmen Ticaret bakanlığı bu ticarete nasıl müsaade eder!
Halk sizden… pic.twitter.com/hInLMo9EKY
— Misvak Caps (@misvakcaps) November 1, 2024
Meanwhile, Cihan pointed to the September foreign trade data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) in a series of tweets on Thursday, stating that Turkey’s iron and steel exports to Palestine increased by 200,000 percent compared to the same period last year. According to the journalist, the amount of barbed wire sent to Palestine during that period nearly doubled.
Demir-Çelik de Dikenli Tel gibi.
Filistin'e demir-çelik ihracatımız %200.000 (yazıyla yüzde iki yüz bin) artmış.
Filistin şu sıralar dünya tarihinin en büyük sanayi devrimini yaşamıyorsa, olay şöyle oluyor.
İsrail'e milyonlarca dolarlık demir çelik gönderip Filistin diye… https://t.co/FQcgGia7Wy pic.twitter.com/rEtl4ENRHV
— metin cihan (@metcihan) October 31, 2024
Following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which led to the death of approximately 1,200 Israelis and the taking of some 250 hostages, Israel launched an intense military campaign on Gaza. This bombardment, which has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians — mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry — has drawn widespread international condemnation.
Turkish President Erdoğan has repeatedly accused Israel of “genocidal behavior” and compared the actions of the administration of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to those of Nazi Germany.
Cihan has been revealing the extent of Turkey’s trade with Israel since last November, and his reports ultimately led to a public outcry that resulted in the government imposing the trade ban in May.
Cihan’s later accusations have raised serious questions about the integrity of Turkey’s trade ban on Israel and the actions of high-profile figures within the Erdoğan administration and its allied political parties.