Ankara walked back Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s sweeping claim of a full Israeli flight ban, clarifying that only government and weapons flights are barred, while commercial transit continues..
After Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced Thursday that Turkey was severing all economic and trade ties with Israel and closing its airspace to Israeli planes, a senior Turkish diplomatic source issued a clarification on Friday.
According to the source, Fidan’s statement had been misinterpreted:
“The minister’s comments refer to official Israeli flights and flights carrying weapons or ammunition to Israel. This does not apply to commercial transit flights,” the source told Reuters.
The initial announcement fueled speculation of a sweeping aviation ban, but Ankara confirmed that civilian commercial traffic remains unaffected.
Turkey insists the economic rupture is a direct response to the war in Gaza, with Fidan accusing Israel of carrying out “massacres,” making Gaza “uninhabitable,” and blocking humanitarian aid. He further warned that Israeli policies are endangering regional stability.
Fidan stressed that Ankara’s decision reflects its “broader response” to alleged crimes in Gaza and pledged continued coordination with Qatar and Egypt on mediation efforts.
The move also comes against the backdrop of deepening political rifts. Just days before the announcement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formally recognized the Armenian Genocide, prompting Ankara’s sharp rebuke, which dismissed the statement as “politically motivated and historically unfounded.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has escalated his rhetoric against Israel since the October 7 Hamas attacks, branding Israel a “terror state” in March after strikes on Gaza, and declaring in June that Netanyahu’s government is the “greatest threat to Middle East security.”
Although Turkey and Israel had been cautiously rebuilding ties before the war, the latest measures and fiery rhetoric signal a sharp reversal, placing bilateral relations at their lowest point in years.
