Trump rejects meeting with Netanyahu over Turkey

US President Donald Trump has refused to schedule a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, following the Israeli leader's public criticism of Washington's plan to sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkey.

According to US media, Netanyahu's statements caused anger in the White House. One US official said Trump was "very irritated", while another stated that the president believed Netanyahu "had no right" to interfere in US defense strategy.

The clash caused a potential meeting in the Oval Office to fall through. US officials said the meeting was not authorized and was not on the presidential agenda, despite the Israeli side having begun preparations for the trip to Washington, Axios reports.

Kongresi amerikan lufton për të lejuar Turqinë të kthehet në programin F-35

Tensions between the two allies have been rising ahead of Trump's trip to the NATO summit in Ankara. An Israeli intelligence claim of a possible Iranian threat to the US president was dismissed by US officials as speculative rather than a concrete plan.

The disagreements come at a time when support for Netanyahu in Washington is weakening. Senior American officials, including Vice President JD Vance, have criticized some members of the Israeli government for their stances on US policy on Iran.

Meanwhile, voices against military aid to Israel are also growing in the US Congress. More than 100 Democrats in the House of Representatives voted to cut $3 billion in military aid, in a sign of growing divisions over US policy toward the Netanyahu government. /Telegraph/ ...