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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Atarot Heritage Center, located near the separation barrier between Jerusalem and Ramallah on the grounds of the former Atarot Airport, on July 5 (local time). / Courtesy of EPA, Yonhap News

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged U.S. President Donald Trump to withhold weapon sales that could modernize Turkey's air power ahead of the upcoming NATO summit, U.S. news outlet Axios reported on July 6 (local time).

According to U.S. and Israeli officials, Netanyahu lodged a formal complaint during a phone call with Trump on July 3 regarding Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's escalating anti-Israel rhetoric.

Trump is scheduled to attend the NATO summit starting July 7 in Ankara, Turkey, where he will hold a bilateral meeting with Erdogan. The critical agenda for their talks includes a $700 million deal to supply new fighter jet engines and discussions on whether Turkey could rejoin the F-35 joint fighter development program. Turkey was expelled from the F-35 program by Washington in 2019 after purchasing Russian S-400 air defense missile systems due to security leak concerns.

Last week, Erdogan intensified frictions by blasting Zionism as a "genocidal ideology" and identifying it as a security threat to his country. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also called for international sanctions in a local television interview, labeling the Israeli government a "burden to humanity and a global problem."

Sources stated that Netanyahu specifically cited these remarks during the July 3 call to press Washington for punitive measures.

"President Trump listened to the Israeli Prime Minister's requests," a U.S. official noted. "While the President may ask Erdogan to tone down his rhetoric regarding Israel, it is unlikely to translate into more substantial policy shifts."

Netanyahu continued his public broadside against the Turkish leadership in an interview with Fox News on July 6, claiming that Turkey is backing extremist factions in the Middle East and threatening both Israel and NATO allies.

"F-35 jets or fighter engines must not be delivered to a regime aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood, an extremist movement that despises America," Netanyahu emphasized. "Such deliveries would dismantle the regional balance of power in the Middle East, which has long been sustained by Israel's qualitative military edge and the U.S. military posture."

                                                                                                          Lee Jeong-eun