Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, from the far right, said that they had taken "both overt and covert actions" to prevent the delivery of F-35 fighters to Turkey, Anadolu Agency reported, quoted by BTA.
The agency cited an interview the minister gave to the Israeli newspaper “Yediot Ahronot“, in which he stated that they were against the delivery of F-35s to Turkey by the United States, and that they were making efforts to prevent it.
Smotrich said that they had held intensive negotiations with US President Donald Trump and that "are working very hard, both openly and unofficially, to block the sale of the F-35 to Turkey," he added, adding: "Erdogan should not be allowed access to weapons that will change the rules of the game."
The agency also quotes Smotrich as saying: "Erdogan is a very dangerous person. In its current state, Turkey poses a very serious threat to Israel."
“During the 36th NATO Summit, US President Donald Trump's statements that gave the green light to Turkey's return to the F-35 program were met with alarm by the Tel Aviv government,“ the agency recalls.
“Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu expressed this concern in interviews with the American press, and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar also stated that they are categorically against it and that the US must protect Israel's “qualitative military superiority“ in the region“ she added.
Trump's announcement of Turkey's return to the F-35 program during the meeting sparked a reaction from both Israel and neighboring Greece.
Turkish President Erdogan responded to Israeli and Greek criticism by saying: “Both statements have no place in my world, because it is clear what waters Netanyahu is sailing in. Mitsotakis should not have made this mistake, because when he bought military equipment for Greece, we did not ask him why he was doing it, he is our neighbor. Turkey produces it anyway. In addition, it has the right to buy. We discuss this with different countries and make our decisions accordingly“.