Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Israel’s naval base in Haifa on Tuesday alongside the Navy commander, as tensions with Turkey rise amid threats from Ankara. The visit aimed to assess the Navy’s preparations to secure freedom of navigation and protect Israel’s maritime trade routes.
During the visit, Netanyahu delivered a sharp message to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: “We take the threats seriously. Erdoğan calls for the destruction of Israel and the conquest of Jerusalem, hosts Hamas. A regime like this shouldn’t get jets.”
The backdrop to the prime minister’s naval base visit and his message to Erdoğan is the debate over the possibility that the U.S. will sell Turkey F-35 fighter jets. According to a New York Times report, President Donald Trump is considering bringing Ankara back into the advanced fighter jet program after it was expelled in 2019 following its purchase of Russia’s S-400 air defense system.
Israel is expressing firm opposition to the move, due to the ongoing deterioration in Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s attitude toward Israel, his support for the terrorist organization Hamas, and concerns about damage to Israel’s qualitative military edge in the region. In the prime minister’s statement that “a regime like this shouldn’t get jets,” he is directly addressing the issue and making clear that Israel will not allow the sale of the fighter jets to Turkey.