Palestine – A Palestinian official announced, yesterday, Saturday, that the volume of goods that Palestine imports from Turkey has increased by 15 percent since the outbreak of the Israeli war on Gaza on October 7, 2023.
A member of the General Federation of Palestinian Industries, Muhammad Abdeen, added to Anadolu that Turkey comes in third place following China and Israel in terms of Palestine’s dependence on its products.
He pointed out that the food industries, clothing, and food products are at the forefront of the products that his country imports from countries around the world, via Israel.
He explained that in light of the occupation and the Palestinian Authority’s lack of control over ports or airports, all imported goods arrive in Palestine through Israeli ports.
He pointed out that these ports, in turn, collect customs duties on imported goods on behalf of the Palestinian Authority in exchange for a percentage of them.
Regarding the change in trade movement between Palestine and Turkey following the outbreak of the war on Gaza, Abdeen said: “Since last October 7, the percentage of goods imported (to Palestine) from Turkey has increased by regarding 15 percent.”
He attributed this to the instability witnessed in navigation in the Red Sea, as a result of the Houthi group’s attacks on what it says are cargo ships belonging to Israel and the countries supporting it, as part of a solidarity movement with the Gaza Strip in the face of the Israeli war.
He added: “As a result of the instability in the Red Sea, Turkey has become for Palestine a quick solution and an important alternative to many materials and products imported from China.”
He explained that Palestine also relies heavily on Turkish products specialized in fertilizers and agricultural medicines.
Abdeen pointed out that the recorded increase in goods imported from Turkey did not extend to vegetables and fruits, the quantity of which was imported remained constant before and following October 7.
In turn, Palestinian farmer Muhammad Abu Thabet praised the quality of Turkish fertilizers and agricultural medicines, and said that he relies on them mainly on his farm located in the Jordan Valley region in the eastern West Bank.
Abu Thabet (49 years old) owns 5 dunums (a dunum is equivalent to a thousand square metres) where he grows tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini.
He added to Anadolu: “In the past ten years, I, as well as a large segment of Palestinian farmers, have become dependent on Turkish fertilizers and types of Turkish pesticides.”
He pointed out that the Turkish product is an alternative to the Israeli product that has flooded the West Bank markets for many years, and is distinguished by its quality, reasonable prices, and competition.
Regarding the method of obtaining the products, Abu Thabet said: “No products can enter the Palestinian market except through the Israeli side, which controls all crossings into the Palestinian territories.”
According to the Paris Economic Agreement signed between the Palestinian Authority and Israel in 1994, Israel collects customs fees on Palestinian goods arriving at its ports on behalf of the Palestinian Authority in exchange for obtaining a percentage of them. These fees are called “clearance funds,” and their monthly average is regarding 220 million dollars. According to official Palestinian figures.
Anatolia
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2024-04-08 05:33:34
