Turkish agricultural exports offer hope for Palestinian farmers

A Palestinian official has stated that Palestine has relied heavily on Turkish products specialised in fertilisers and agricultural pesticides.

Türkiye ranks third after China and Israel in importing products to Palestine, a member of the Palestine Industrial Federation Board of Directors, Mohammed Abidin, told Anadolu Agency.

Abidin said that food and clothing are at the top of the list among the products his country imports from the rest of the world via Israel.

"Due to the occupation and the lack of control by the Palestinian Authority over ports and airports, all goods imported to Palestine reach through Israeli ports," he explained.

"These ports levy a customs duty on goods imported on behalf of the Palestinian Authority," Abidin noted. There has been a nearly 15% rise in products imported from Türkiye to Palestine since the attacks by Israel on Gaza started in October.

Abidin said that one of the reasons for this increase is the Houthi attacks and violations targeting cargo ships passing through the Red Sea. "Amid the instability in the Red Sea, Türkiye has become a quick solution for Palestine as well as a significant alternative for many materials and products imported from China," he added.

Palestinian farmer Mohammad Ebu Sabit also praised Turkish fertilisers and agricultural pesticides, stating that he uses Turkish products on his farm located in the Jordan Valley region in the eastern part of the West Bank. Ebu Sabit, 49, has a five-acre agricultural land where he grows tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini.

"In the past ten years, myself and a large portion of Palestinian farmers have become dependent on Turkish fertilisers and pesticide varieties," he said. Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on Gaza since a cross-border attack in early October by the Palestinian group Hamas killed less than 1,200 people.

Ongoing war in Gaza

More than 33,100 Palestinians have since been killed, and over 75,800 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities. Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on Gaza, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine. In comparison, 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide by the International Court of Justice, which last week asked it to do more to prevent famine in Gaza.