U.S. President Donald Trump said on Dec. 29 that he is “very seriously” considering the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Türkiye, as he held wide-ranging talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his home in Florida.
"We're thinking about it very seriously," Trump responded when asked if the U.S. will approve the sale.
Asked about the potential for conflict between Israel and Türkiye, Trump calls Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan “a very good friend.”
“I promise they’ll never use them on [Israel],” Trump said while walking out of the room. “We’re not going have a problem.”
The U.S. suspended Türkiye from the F-35 fighter jet program in 2019 after objecting to its purchase of the Russian S-400 air defense system. Several Turkish defense entities were sanctioned under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).
On the potential Turkish presence in the Gaza Strip as part of a multinational force under the deal, Trump said he would discuss the issue with Netanyahu.
“I have a great relationship with President Erdoğan, and we’ll be talking about it. And if it’s good, I think that’s good,” Trump said when asked whether he expects Turkish troops to be stationed in Gaza.
He added that the matter “will be having to do with Bibi,” using a nickname often attributed to Netanyahu ahead of their meeting at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
Netanyahu was on his fifth trip to the U.S. since the start of Trump’s second term, with his visit coming as talks continue to advance to the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire plan.
Trump and Netanyahu also discussed the steps to advance to the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire plan, including a full Israeli withdrawal and the disarmament of Hamas.
When asked if Israel will withdraw its forces before Hamas is fully disarmed, Trump said ,“If they don’t disarm as they agreed to do – they agreed to it – then there’ll be hell to pay for them and we don’t want that, we’re not looking for that.”
“But they have to disarm within a fairly short period of time.”
‘US, Israel do not agree 100 pct on West Bank’
Regarding the Israeli actions on the occupied West Bank, Trump said that the United States and Israel do not agree “100 percent” on the West Bank but will ultimately reach a conclusion.
“We have had a discussion, big discussion, for a long time on the West Bank, and I wouldn't say we agree on the West Bank 100 percent, but we’ll come to a conclusion,” Trump said when asked if he is concerned about Israeli settler violence in the West Bank and whether he had conveyed a message to Netanyahu regarding the occupied territory.
“It'll be announced at an appropriate time, but he will do the right thing,” he said, referring to Netanyahu.
The Axios news site also reported that Trump and his top advisers asked Netanyahu to change Israel's policies in the West Bank.
