AJ
⚡️ Israel and Turkiye continued to exchange public comments in relation to each other as things heated up over the past week, leading Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to request a call to President Donald Trump, requesting that the US reject the proposed plans to sell Turkiye F-35 planes and engines.
🔹 Netanyahu complained to president Trump about the Turkish President’s rhetoric, after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Zionism “a genocidal ideology” and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called Israel “a burden that humanity can no longer bear,” which prompted Netanyahu to request the block on the sales.
🔹 However, President Trump is expected to reverse a ban he imposed seven years ago during his first administration, which was due to Turkiye buying S-400 anti-aircraft systems from Russia, claimed to be due to espionage and stealth technology concerns.
🔹 Trump is due to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the NATO summit in Ankara to state he’s ready to restore Turkey’s access to the F-35 stealth fighter jet program.
🔹 In order to comply with a 2020 law that blocked the sale, administration officials discussed measures of handling Turkey’s S-400s, with options including making them inoperable or transferring them to a third parry.
🔹 Despite Turkiye lobbying for readmission to the program, Trump’s plan plan faces potential legal hurdles, as well as strong opposition from some members of the US Congress.
🔹 The F-35 planes were originally purchased and paid for by Turkiye, but the ban in 2019 prevented them being delivered, so they currently remain stored within the US.
In a statement from the Turkish Foreign Ministry, baseless allegations have been circulated in recent days by Israeli officials in a coordinated and deliberate manner as part of a disinformation campaign, calling them ‘black propaganda.’
🔹 “Prime Minister Netanyahu and his associates deliberately distort any criticism directed at them and seek to shift the agenda through a systematic propaganda effort,” the statement said.
🔹 However, the attempts are no longer convincing the international community, the statement continued, stating that they failed to conceal the Netanyahu government’s ‘genocide in Gaza, its policies of occupation and annexation in the region, and its destabilising actions.’
🔹 “Turkiye’s objective is for all countries and peoples in the region to live in peace, stability, and prosperity,” the statement said, stating that with this understanding, Israel is once again called to pursue a ‘constructive and peaceful policy,’ adding: “As Turkiye, we will continue to speak the truth.”
🔹 Allegations dismissed by Ankara include claims reported by Israeli media that Hamas members were conducting drone training inside Turkish territory, accusations that Turkiye were linked to an alleged assassination plot of an Israeli government minister, and claims that President Erdogan had threatened military action against Israel.
Sources: Israeli Channel 12, The New York Times, Yediot Ahronot, MTV Lebanon, Turkish Foreign Ministry, Axios
