Trump indicated during the NATO summit that he might be willing to sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkey.
By Shula Rosen
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Tuesday that a possible US sale of F-35 stealth fighter jets to Turkey would upset the regional balance of power, saying he has personally urged President Donald Trump not to proceed with the transfer.
The remarks came after Trump indicated during the NATO summit that his administration was considering allowing Turkey to purchase the advanced aircraft, despite restrictions imposed during his first administration.
Speaking to CNN, Netanyahu argued that providing Ankara with the fighter jets would empower a government he said has adopted an increasingly hostile posture toward both Israel and the United States.
“This is not a force for peace and stability. When you give them that power, you’re going to see aggression in its wake,” Netanyahu said.
He said the proposed sale “doesn’t make Turkey a friendly state to the United States,” describing the Turkish government as “a regime that’s infected with the Muslim Brotherhood, which hates the United States.”
Netanyahu also criticized Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan directly.
“He’s not exactly a model ally of the United States,” Netanyahu said. “He threatens to destroy my country, the one and only Jewish state.”
The Israeli leader said transferring the aircraft would “destroy the power balance in the Middle East.”
While objecting to the possible sale, Netanyahu rejected suggestions of broader disagreements with Trump, portraying the relationship between the two leaders as strong.
“He’s the President of the United States. He does what is good for the United States,” Netanyahu said. “I’m the Prime Minister of Israel, I do what is important for Israel, and most of the time these things are identical.”
Trump, meeting Erdogan earlier Tuesday, described Turkey as an “extraordinary” ally and signaled he was prepared to revisit the ban on F-35 sales to Ankara.
The debate comes as relations between Israel and Turkey remain strained. Last week, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told CNN Turk that Israel had “become a burden that humanity can no longer bear.” Israel’s foreign minister denounced the remark as “textbook incitement to genocide.”