‘Death to America’: Netanyahu Urges US Not to Provide F-35 Fighter Jets, Engine Technology to TurkeyIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has urged the Trump administration not to provide advanced American fighter aircraft or critical jet components to Turkey, arguing that such a move would undermine Israel’s security and threaten the military balance in the Middle East. As US President Donald Trump traveled to Turkey for this week’s NATO summit in Ankara, Netanyahu warned on Monday that the Turkish government should not be allowed to acquire Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighters or F110 jet engines that could support the country’s domestic fighter aircraft program. Speaking to the US broadcaster Fox News, Netanyahu described Turkey as “a regime infected by the Muslim Brotherhood, an extreme movement that hates America and chants ‘Death to America,'” adding that he did not believe Ankara “should be given F-35s or engines for their fighter jets.” The Israeli leader singled out the rhetoric of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has cast himself as one of the Jewish state’s fiercest foes on the international stage. “Turkey is a great country, but it’s governed by a man who calls openly for the annihilation of Israel. He occupies half of Cyprus, a NATO country. He’s threatening Greece, another NATO country, and he talks openly about conquering Jerusalem,” Netanyahu said. Providing Ankara with the F-35, the prime minister argued, would “upset the power balance in the Middle East, which is ultimately guaranteed by Israeli air superiority and also by, I think, by America’s posture in the Middle East.” The comments underscore growing tensions between Jerusalem and Ankara, whose relations have sharply deteriorated since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, launched by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas with its Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel. Erdogan has been among Israel’s most vocal critics during the conflict, accusing the Israeli government of committing atrocities against Palestinians and suspending many aspects of bilateral cooperation. Israeli officials, in turn, have accused the Turkish president of emboldening Hamas and pursuing policies that threaten regional stability. Last week, in remarks condemning Israel, Erdogan denounced what he called “the genocidal, occupying, and expansionist ideology called Zionism,” saying that the concept of Jewish self-determination “threatens not only me, not only our party, and not only our alliance, but everyone.” Israel has long viewed its qualitative military edge as a cornerstone of its national security strategy, and successive US administrations have pledged to preserve the Jewish state’s technological superiority over potential regional adversaries, particularly through restrictions on the sale of advanced American weapons systems. Tensions between the two countries have also intensified over Syria, where Israel and Turkey have pursued competing security objectives following the collapse of the Assad government, raising fears among Israeli officials of an expanding strategic rivalry. Turkey was removed from the multinational F-35 program in 2019 after purchasing Russia’s S-400 air defense system, a move US officials argued posed unacceptable security risks to the stealth aircraft’s sensitive technology. Washington has maintained that Ankara cannot rejoin the program while the Russian-made system remains in service. Netanyahu’s remarks come amid reports that the Trump administration is considering easing curbs on defense cooperation with Turkey, including the possible sale of F110 engines for the country’s indigenous KAAN fighter program and, potentially, discussions about restoring Turkish participation in the F-35 program. A bipartisan group of US lawmakers has recently urged the administration to keep the existing restrictions in place, citing both the unresolved S-400 dispute and broader regional security considerations.