Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced today, on the sidelines of the extraordinary parliamentary session focused on Gaza (see video below), the closure of national airspace to Israeli aircraft and a ban on Israeli ships docking in Turkish ports. He also announced the suspension of all trade.

As the minister explained, the decision comes in response to Israel's crimes in Gaza: "Allowing Israel to continue its attacks across Palestine will not only have repercussions on the Palestinians, but will set the entire region ablaze". "Israel is obstructing the distribution of aid", he explained, "and is using hunger as a weapon. This is not a natural disaster. Israeli state terrorism continues". Fidan then added that Turkey "opposes the plan to evacuate the Palestinian people from Gaza", calling for international measures against the Jewish State.

Below, in the video posted on-line by Turkish public broadcaster Trt, the minister's announcement: