Our political correspondent Saraya Harush addressed concerns today (Sunday) in an interview with Boaz Golan about Israel’s worries over the possibility that Turkey could receive F-35 fighter jets from the United States. He said that at this stage “there’s no clear answer,” but the issue is occupying senior political and military officials.
1+Alongside the concern in the defense establishment, Harush emphasized that even in a scenario where Turkey receives the aircraft, “it doesn’t mean the Israeli Air Force’s advantage will be completely erased.” He explained that Israel has “systems we developed,” along with “the capabilities of our pilots” and “the operational experience they’ve accumulated in recent years. These things still remain in our hands.”
Harush added that this comes against the backdrop of escalating tensions between Israel and Turkey. He noted that last week the government approved recognition of the Armenian genocide, which he said triggered “a lot of very antisemitic responses” from Erdoğan and from the Turkish foreign minister.
1+Meanwhile, according to a report published over the weekend by the Associated Press, Trump was asked if he would arrive at a meeting with Turkey with “a big bag of gifts,” in the context of Ankara’s request to purchase F-110 engines and F-35 aircraft. He responded: “Yes, I think so. I’ll probably do something that will make him very happy.”