Netanyahu Urges Trump Not to Sell Advanced Weapons to Turkey

A news report stated that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu complained to U.S. President Donald Trump, during a phone call last Friday, about anti-Israel statements made by high-ranking Turkish officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Trump and Erdogan are expected to discuss Turkey’s desire to rejoin the F-35 fighter jet program at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit this week in Ankara.

According to a senior U.S. official, Trump may ask Erdogan to tone down his rhetoric against Israel.

Relations between Israel and Turkey have deteriorated significantly since the outbreak of the Gaza war. Erdogan has described Hamas as a “liberation movement” and compared Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler.

According to historical studies, approximately 1.5 million Armenians perished in 1915 and 1916 during World War I, as a result of systematic mass killings under the Ottoman Empire.