US lawmakers target Turkey over Hamas and F-35s, clash with Trump administration
US lawmakers target Turkey over Hamas and F-35s, clash with Trump administration
US lawmakers are aiming to ban arms sales to Turkey with a series of new amendments in the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
If the amendments become law, they would preclude the transfer of arms to Turkey - including F-35s - over previous topics, including Congress's criticism of Ankara for violations of Greek air space, its possession of the Russian S-400 air defence system, and its occupation of Northern Cyprus.
Some lawmakers have made Turkey's relationship with Hamas a priority.
One of the amendments introduced by Republican Gus Bilirakis and Democrat Brad Schneider would prohibit the sale of F-35s to Turkey unless the White House certifies that Ankara is not “materially supporting Hamas or any of its affiliates”.
The amendment, if it becomes law, would also require the administration to certify that Turkey is not “engaging in military threats to Israel” or engaging in military cooperation, including drone sales, to Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.
A separate amendment by a group of Republican and Democratic lawmakers would require the State, Defence and Treasury Departments to file in-depth investigations into any of Turkey’s alleged ties to Hamas.
It asks for Congress to be informed whether Turkey is “harboring members or the financial assets of Hamas, its affiliates, or other designated foreign terrorist organizations”, and whether Hamas officials are “present in Turkey or operating in its territory or areas under its effective control”.
The raft of amendments seeking to tie arms sales to Turkey over Gaza and Israel underscores how the US’s Nato ally and Israel are increasingly at odds, especially over Syria, where Turkey has emerged as the main military backer of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
Middle East Eye revealed earlier this year that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been lobbying US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to block the sale of F-35 warplanes. Netanyahu raised the F-35 issue during multiple calls with Rubio, MEE reported.
Critics of Turkey in Congress have long accused it of funding and backing Hamas, which is labelled a US terror organisation.
Hamas's military and political wings are structured as distinct entities. The group's political leadership was based in Damascus, Syria, until 2012, when it fell out with the Syrian government over the country’s civil war.
Qatar agreed to host the exiled leadership in response to a 2011 request from former US President Barack Obama.
Hamas also had an office in Cairo, Egypt, although it is unclear whether that office is still functioning following the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel.
Hamas political officials are known to spend time in Turkey and have publicly met with Turkish officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
'Conversation with Hamas'
The lawmakers' amendments contrast with the Trump administration’s view of Turkey’s ties to Hamas.
The US has used Turkey and Qatar as a backchannel to the group. The NDAA amendments contradict how Middle East envoy and US ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack has framed Turkey’s ties to Hamas.
“They’ve actually really helped us in having a point of conversation with Hamas, although they get criticised for it,” Barrack said in July.
The Trump administration broke precedent by meeting directly with Hamas in Qatar earlier this year.
More recently, diplomacy in the Middle East has suggested that US and European officials are open to sidestepping their own country’s specific “terror designations” on an ad hoc basis.
The US’s top diplomat in the Middle East during the Biden administration met directly with Syrian President Sharaa before the terror label on Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham was removed by the Trump administration.
The tussle between Turkey and the US over F-35s goes back much further, to 2019, when Ankara purchased Russia’s S-400 missile system and was ejected from the co-production of the warplane.
The following year, the Trump administration slapped sanctions on Turkey.
Under US law, Turkey must relinquish possession of the S-400 system to be readmitted into the F-35 programme. But deploying the S-400 to Syria would likely alarm Israel.
Israel has long enjoyed a veto on US arms sales to other Middle Eastern states to ensure it maintains a qualitative military edge in the region. A separate amendment to the NDAA seeks to officially include Turkey in the Arms Export Control Act.
Foes of Turkey in Congress were alarmed when Barrack said Ankara was being “amazingly cooperative” with F-35 discussions. Barrack also said that Turkey purchased the S-400 following a failed 2016 coup, after the US denied Erdogan’s request to purchase its US competitor, Patriot Air Defence batteries.
“What is that end? A negotiation and a discussion of saying how can we turn back on that clock,” Barrack said.
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