PM Netanyahu warns against arming Turkey with F-35 ahead of NATO summit in Ankara

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the United States against supplying Turkey with F-35 fighter jets ahead of this week's NATO summit in Ankara, arguing that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan cannot be trusted with America's most advanced fighter aircraft.

Speaking Monday on the American television program Fox & Friends, Netanyahu portrayed Erdogan as a threat not only to Israel but also to NATO allies Greece and Cyprus, while warning that strengthening Turkey's air force would undermine Israel's military advantage in the Middle East.

“Turkey is a great country, but it's governed by a man who calls openly for the annihilation of Israel,” Netanyahu said. “He occupies half of Cyprus, a NATO country. He's threatening Greece, another NATO country, and he talks openly about conquering Jerusalem.”

Netanyahu added that Erdogan's AKP Party is “a regime infected by the Muslim Brotherhood,” that “hates America and chants death to America.”

He also noted that Erdogan has been an outspoken supporter of Hamas and, despite sharing a border with Iran, has done little to counter Tehran's regional ambitions.

Netanyahu further argued that providing Turkey with F-35s – or even advanced engines for its domestically produced fifth-generation fighter program – 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.”

Asked about reports of tensions between himself and President Trump, Netanyahu responded simply: "The president has his way of expressing things and so do I."

His comments came ahead of the NATO summit on Tuesday and Wednesday, where Trump and Erdogan are expected to meet.

The gathering also comes as the United States reviews its military posture in Europe, with Washington seeking to shift more of the continent's defense burden onto European allies while concentrating greater resources on competition with China in the Indo-Pacific.

“There should be no surprise that we're doing a posture review," one senior Pentagon official said. "That posture review very well may lead to us adjusting our posture because we're trying to shift burden to Europe.”

"We expect all allies to demonstrate meaningful upward trajectories, both quantitatively and qualitatively, in defense spending that results in fairer burden sharing," U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker told reporters ahead of the summit.

During an Oval Office meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte last week, President Trump declared that "I was disappointed with Italy. I was disappointed with the UK.... We were disappointed with Germany and France. Spain is a horror show. Spain is terrible.... They think they're in for a free ride."

Some analysts, however, argue that the U.S. military drawdown is outpacing Europe's ability to compensate, raising broader concerns about regional security.

"The Americans are withdrawing faster than the Europeans can fill," Liana Fix, an analyst at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank, said during a panel discussion this week. "The more the US withdraws from Europe, the more Ukraine becomes a security guarantor to Europe."

The summit will also feature Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is expected to meet Trump on its sidelines.

Ukraine and Turkey have been expanding defense cooperation, further highlighting Turkey's growing strategic role within NATO at a time of heightened security concerns across both Europe and the Middle East.

Trump is also expected to press European allies to take greater responsibility for protecting commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Discussions over higher European defense spending are also expected to underscore the growing role of Israeli-made defense systems, which have seen rising demand among European militaries.