Israel is considering closing its consulate general in İstanbul, a move that would leave its embassy in Ankara as its only formal diplomatic mission in Turkey, the Israeli Ynet news outlet reported on Tuesday.
An Israeli source separately told Agence France-Presse on Wednesday that the issue was under discussion and that no decision had been made, linking the debate in part to plans to demolish the building housing the İstanbul consulate as part of earthquake preparation measures. The source said some officials argue that the vacant premises, which Israel owns, are costing the government a lot of money.
Both Israeli missions in Turkey, the embassy in Ankara and the consulate general in İstanbul, have been without Israeli diplomats on site since October 2023, according to the report. Israeli diplomats assigned to Turkey are stationed in Bulgaria, while locally employed staff in Turkey work from home.
Israel’s İstanbul consulate says on its website that it is “closed to the public until further notice” and directs people seeking consular assistance to an emergency WhatsApp number and email addresses.
Ynet said there is no consensus inside Israel’s Foreign Ministry over whether to close the mission. Some officials say keeping an empty consulate open wastes public funds, while others warn that reopening it later could be difficult.
The report said another concern is İstanbul’s Jewish community, estimated by Ynet at about 15,000 people. Closing the consulate could be viewed as a blow to the community, the report said.
Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak, an Israeli expert on Turkey, told Ynet that closing the consulate would be “a very serious mistake,” arguing that Israel should consider the diplomatic value of the mission rather than only its cost.
He said Israel’s diplomatic presence in Turkey could serve as leverage in future dealings with Ankara. He also said a unilateral Israeli closure would probably not trigger a parallel Turkish step because Ankara does not view its consulate in Jerusalem as equivalent to Israel’s consulate in İstanbul.
Ynet said Israel’s Foreign Ministry has not made a final decision.
The debate follows security incidents near the consulate. A man was arrested this month after opening fire at a building near the mission, with no injuries or damage. In April gunmen opened fire near the consulate building, wounding two police officers, with law enforcement killing one of the attackers.
Turkey and Israel restored full diplomatic relations in 2022 after years of tension, agreeing to reappoint ambassadors four years after they had been withdrawn.
The relationship deteriorated again after October 2023. Israel’s ambassador to Turkey left the country along with other Israeli diplomats that month. Turkey later recalled its ambassador from Tel Aviv for consultations.
The strain has not been limited to Israel’s assault on Gaza. The two countries have also clashed over Syria, where Turkey has sought influence over the new government and Israel has carried out strikes while warning against Turkish military expansion there.
Reuters reported in April 2025 that Israel accused Turkey of trying to turn Syria into a Turkish protectorate, while Turkey said Israel must stop undermining stabilization efforts and withdraw from the Syrian territory it occupies.
Turkish and Israeli officials later held technical talks in Azerbaijan to prevent unwanted clashes in Syria, where both countries have military interests. Israel told Turkey any Turkish bases in the Palmyra area would be a “red line.”
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in July 2025 that Turkey had conveyed its objections to Israeli strikes in Syria through intelligence channels. He said Ankara did not want instability there.
Gaza has still remained the most visible source of public confrontation. Turkey has accused Israel of genocide, applied to join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice and announced a halt to direct trade with Israel in May 2024.
But Turkey’s stance has also faced criticism from Palestinian solidarity groups and UN-linked reporting. An October 2025 report by Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, titled “Gaza Genocide: a collective crime,” described the genocide in Gaza as a collective crime sustained by third-state complicity.
The report said Turkey was among countries whose actions had not matched their rhetoric, citing reported indirect trade, oil shipments and trans-shipments from Turkish ports to Israel despite Ankara’s official trade suspension. It also referred to dual-use goods that can serve civilian purposes but also support Israel’s military capacity.
Pro-Palestinian groups have separately said at least 57 crude oil shipments totaling nearly 47 million barrels reached Israel from Turkey’s Ceyhan port after Turkey announced its trade embargo. The groups said the oil was transported through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and later delivered to Israel, allegations that have fueled calls for Turkey to enforce a full trade and energy embargo.