Israel sanctions: Who has imposed curbs over Gaza war?

Israel's allies have ramped up the pressure in recent weeks to allow more aid into Gaza to avert a worsening humanitarian crisis. But few have so far imposed sanctions on the Middle Eastern country, or boycotted products from Israel.

DW looks at what measures a handful of countries and activist movements have taken.

Turkey raises the stakes

In its first significant measure against Israel since the war began, Turkey has announced it will not resume trade with Israel,worth $7 billion (€6.52 billion) a year, until a permanent cease-fire and humanitarian aid are secured in Gaza.

Israel's "uncompromising attitude" and the worsening situation in Gaza's southern Rafah region prompted Turkey to halt all exports and imports, Trade Minister Omer Bolat said Friday (May 3).

Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz criticised Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's move, saying it breaks international trade agreements and was "how a dictator behaves".

The militant group Hamas, which rules Gaza, praised the decision as brave and supportive of Palestinian rights.

Trade Minister Polat said Turkey decided to "stop exports and imports to and from Israel" and is negotiating with "our Palestinian brothers on alternative arrangements to ensure that they are not affected by this decision."

In April, Turkey already curbed exports of 54 product categories, including steel, fertilizer and jet fuel, over what it said was Israel's refusal to allow Ankara to take part in aid air-drop operations for Gaza.

All remaining trade, which amounted to $5.4 billion in Turkish exports and $1.6 billion in Israeli imports last year, is now halted. Top Turkish exports to Israel are steel, vehicles, plastics, electrical devices and machinery, while imports are dominated by
fuels at $634 million last year.

Turkish economist and former politician Oguz Oyan told DW that "Ankara was forced to make such a decision." He added that during the local election campaign last month, the Erdogan government "got in trouble owing to its good trade relations with Israel. This affected the behavior of conservative voters."

US, France and UK sanction Israeli settlers

Among major Western powers, only France has mooted the idea of sanctions to pressure Israel to pull back its troops from Gaza and allow more humanitarian aid to reach displaced Palestinians.

"We have multiple ways to utilize our influence; obviously, we can impose more sanctions," Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné told French broadcasters RFI and FRANCE 24 on Tuesday.

Séjourné was referring to very targeted sanctions imposed by the US, Canada, France and UK on settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

In February, the Biden administration named two Israeli outposts and several Israeli settlers it accused of undermining stability in the landlocked territory. The State Department said the outposts had been bases for violence against Palestinians.

The White House also imposed sanctions on multiple Israeli men it accused of being involved in settler violence in the West Bank.

The sanctions typically freeze any US assets of those targeted and generally bar Americans from dealing with them.

Canada, France and the UK imposed similar curbs on several Israeli settlers.

The Biden administration is also planning to require goods produced in West Bank settlements to be clearly marked, the Financial Times reported last week.

In 2019, the European Union's top court ruled that goods from West Bank settlements must be labeled as coming from occupied territory and not imply that they came from Israel.

Chile blocks Israel from aviation fair

The Chilean government informed Israel last month that its companies would be banned from taking part in the 2024 International Air and Space Fair, FIDAE.

Organized by the Chilean Air Force, the fair is regarded as the main aerospace and defense show in Latin America, bringing together exhibitors from more than 40 countries.

As well as the ban, Chile has canceled all cooperation or training activities with Israel on Chilean territory. The government said it would no longer purchase any weapons, defense or security systems from Israel.

In January, Chile asked the International Criminal Court in The Hague to investigate Israel's actions in Gaza and the occupied territories.

Israel's tie normalization with Arab states hits the skids

The Israel-Hamas war has halted progress on what is known as the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) which aims to foster integration between Asia, the Persian Gulf and Europe.

The project will see new rail and shipping links built to counter China's massive Belt and Road (BRI) infrastructure initiative. But IMEC is understood to be on hold while the conflict plays out.

There was hope the IMEC could help speed up the long-awaited rapprochement between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which the Biden administration hoped would help open the door for other Muslim countries to recognize Israel.

Arab nations have regularly condemned Israel's aggressive tactics against civilians as it seeks to root out the Hamas militant group in Gaza. Riyadh has warned that it would only normalize relations with Israel if there is a two-state solution between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Israel established ties with the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Sudan and Bahrain in 2020 as part of the Abraham Accords.

BDS movement urges global sanctions against Israel

Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a nonviolent Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments and economic sanctions against Israel.

Co-founder Omar Barghouti said BDS drew inspiration from South Africa's anti-apartheid movement.

BDS now has branches in 40 countries and has also advocated a boycott of Israeli sporting, cultural and academic events, calling for pressure on foreign companies that "collaborate" with Israel.

The movement is regularly accused of antisemitism by Israel and the US.

Meanwhile, several apps are helping consumers boycott businesses deemed to be supporting Israel and its war on Gaza.

The apps, including one called Boycat, allow users to scan the barcode of any product and see its links to the Middle Eastern country. The app also offers a choice of products consumers may buy instead.

Edited by: Uwe Hessler

This article was updated on May 3, 2024, to include Turkey's announcement of a complete ban of Israeli imports and exports.