Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that they would further toughen their stance against a potential F-35 transfer to Türkiye while evaluating the US sale of F-35s to Saudi Arabia. Netanyahu claimed that the possibility of such a sale is “very remote,” sending a clear message to Washington.
Netanyahu made his statements in an interview with the Telegram channel Abu Ali Express. He said that the US had not given Israel any special notification about the F-35 sales process and added: “They didn’t ask us before the sale, but when it happened, I spoke with Foreign Minister Marco Rubio and made sure. Mohammed bin Salman did not get everything he wanted from Trump.”
“There is cautious optimism in normalisation with Saudi Arabia”
Commenting on the normalisation process with Riyadh, Netanyahu said he carried “cautious optimism,” while asserting that they would not allow the establishment of a Palestinian state. According to information reflected in the press, the Saudi administration is setting the recognition of a Palestinian state as a condition for the normalisation of relations with Israel.
US President Donald Trump approved on 19 November a comprehensive agreement that includes not only F-35s for Saudi Arabia but also the sale of 300 tanks.
“If it is Türkiye, we will further toughen our stance”
Netanyahu spoke clearly about the possibility of the US supplying F-35 fighter jets to Türkiye:
“I do not believe the US will give F-35s to Türkiye. Even if it exists, I know it is a very remote possibility.”
The Israeli Prime Minister stated that Saudi Arabia is not in conflict with Israel and added: “When it comes to Türkiye, we toughen our stance on the F-35 sale.”
Security talks with Syria: “They also have an interest”
Netanyahu also touched on the security agreement negotiations conducted with Syria. He claimed that Syria has as much, “perhaps even more,” interest in an agreement as Israel does.
New York controversy: “Even if I’m threatened, I will still come”
The topic of Zohran Mamdani, who won the New York mayoralty and announced that he would enforce the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant issued for Netanyahu, also came up during the interview.
Netanyahu said, “Even if Zohran Mamdani threatens to arrest me, I will still come to New York.”
Mamdani argued that Israel is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip and said that Netanyahu would be detained if he set foot in New York under the ICC arrest warrant.
