Turkey boycotts Coca-Cola, Nestle from menu over alleged support for Israel

Israel-Hamas war: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan-led Turkey’s parliament on Tuesday removed Coca-Cola and Nestle products from its restaurants’ menu over the companies’ alleged support for Israel in the ongoing war with Hamas fighters.

The Turkish parliament statement read, “It was decided that the products of companies that support Israel will not be sold in restaurants, cafeterias and tea houses in the parliament campus.”

Parliament speaker Numan Kurtulmus made the decision but the statement did not identify the companies. A person familiar with the developments told the Reuters news agency that Coca-Cola beverages and Nestle instant coffee were the only brands removed, a decision taken because of public demand.

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On social media, activists have been calling for people to boycott Israeli goods and Western companies that support its attack on Gaza.

Turkey’s government has sharply criticised Israel’s bombardment of Gaza and Western support for Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, trade between Turkey and Israel has dropped by half since the start of the war, compared to the same period last year, according to the Turkish trade minister.

Turkey said it had recalled its ambassador to Israel for consultations over Israel’s sustained bombing of civilians in the Gaza Strip and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the besieged enclave.

Last month, Israeli diplomats had left Turkey for security reasons after many pro-Palestinian demonstrations erupted across the country. Its Ministry of Foreign Affairs later said it had recalled the diplomats to assess the state of bilateral relations.

Israel has bombarded Gaza since a Hamas raid on southern Israel a month ago, when its fighters killed 1,400 people and seized 240 hostages.

Gaza health officials say Israel’s assault has killed more than 10,000 Palestinians, including some 4,100 children.

Hundreds of thousands of Turks have taken to the streets to protest against Israeli operations into Gaza over the past month, as well as protests on social media.