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Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-873730
Israel: Turkey Shouldn't Get U.S. F-35s
(Jerusalem Post) Amichai Stein - Israel's ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter said in an interview, "Look at the big picture. The United States incorporated our basic demands into [President Trump's] 20-point plan." Those demands are unambiguous: "to decommission Hamas and to demilitarize and deradicalize Gaza." On Iran and its network of proxies, Leiter signals confidence in the alignment between Jerusalem and Washington. "We are on the same track, absolutely." If certain terrorist groups "start rebuilding," the president "is going to act militarily again." The message Leiter conveys is that deterrence is real, it is being felt, and it will be enforced. Regarding Turkey, he says, "We understand the strategic importance of Turkey to the United States. It's a NATO member, a large army, a key geography. And we don't challenge that." But "we can't have Turkish troops in Gaza or Syria. And those practical demands haven't been challenged by the United States; they've been accepted." "We would prefer that Turkey not receive F-35s from the U.S. We don't think it's constructive at this time." Yet, "we don't live in fear...that Israel's qualitative edge will be compromised."