Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has voiced strong opposition to the possibility of the United States selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump said his administration was considering such a move.
In an interview with CNN, Netanyahu argued that transferring America’s most advanced fighter aircraft to Turkey would “destroy the balance of power in the Middle East.”
He said he had personally urged President Trump not to approve such a deal.
“Turkey is not a friend of the United States,” Netanyahu said, describing Ankara as “a regime infected with the Muslim Brotherhood.”
The Israeli prime minister also accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of threatening Israel, adding that he is “not exactly a model ally of the United States.”
The remarks come amid heightened tensions between Turkey and Israel. Last week, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that Israel had “become a burden humanity can no longer bear,” while Israel’s foreign minister condemned those comments as “incitement to genocide.”
Earlier in the day, Trump said his administration would soon decide whether to proceed with the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, despite previous objections from the U.S. Congress.
