A pro-government conglomerate in Turkey continues to export steel to Israel through a dedicated customs zone established within one of its factories, investigative journalist Metin Cihan has revealed, citing open source data.
Cihan’s revelations concern İÇDAŞ, an İstanbul-based conglomerate with businesses in construction, concrete production, energy and mining services and 10,000 employees. The company is a member of the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (MÜSİAD), known for its support for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Cihan on Thursday detailed in a tweet how he traced the information about İÇDAŞ’s trade with Israel through publicly available procurement records and online research.
Drawing on data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) and the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, he demonstrated that İÇDAŞ continues to export steel to Israel, though the trade is officially recorded as being with Palestine.
MÜSİAD üyesi İÇDAŞ İsrail'e hâlâ çelik tedarik ediyor ve üstelik kağıt üzerinde bu çeliği Filistin'e gönderiyormuş gibi gösteriyor. Anlatayım.
Gümrüklerden Ağustos ayı ihracat rakamlarına bakıyordum. Biga Gümrüğü dikkatimi çekti. 2023'e kadar İsrail'e ihracat vardı ama 2024…
— metin cihan (@metcihan) October 17, 2024
Although the Turkish government announced a halt in exports to Israel in May after a public outcry over Israel’s military actions in Gaza in May, data released by the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TIM) show a near cessation of direct exports to Israel but trade with Palestine surging to unprecedented levels, raising questions about whether goods are being rerouted to Israel.
Cihan said that while reviewing TurkStat’s August export figures, he noticed that exports to Israel from Biga Customs were normal until 2023, but none were recorded in 2024 due to the trade ban. He added that there had been no exports to Palestine until 2024, when suddenly millions of dollars in exports appeared.
The journalist further stated, citing a 2012 news report from the ministry’s website, that he discovered the customs office is located on the İÇDAŞ factory premises and was established specifically for İÇDAŞ to streamline its export operations.
Cihan also noted that the Israeli army sources its steel from İÇDAŞ, accusing the Turkish government of supplying materials for the devastation Israel has caused in Gaza.
“They are even using Palestine, which is currently struggling to survive hunger and bombs, to circumvent the trade ban in official documents. They continue to send steel to Israel by preparing paperwork that makes it appear as if it’s being sent to companies established there [in Palestine] by Israelis or their collaborators. In return, they pay those companies a commission of between 3 and 5 percent,” Cihan said.
Israel launched a military campaign on the Gaza Strip in retaliation for an unprecedented Hamas incursion on October 7, 2023 that resulted in the death of some 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and the taking of around 250 hostages.
According to the health ministry in Gaza, more than 42,300 people have been killed in Gaza since then, mostly civilians.
Erdoğan and his government, outspoken critics of the Israeli war on Gaza, are accused of hypocrisy due to Turkey’s continuing trade with Israel despite the harsh rhetoric.