US rejects Israeli plan to move military aircraft from Ben-Gurion as parking crisis continues

A diplomatic and military crisis is escalating between the US and Israel regarding the parking of American refueling aircraft at Ben-Gurion Airport. Despite the Israeli Transportation Ministry's announcement of a solution to relocate the planes due to disruptions to commercial operations, US military sources on Thursday rejected the proposed alternative sites. They stated the alternatives are "very crowded and do not meet the Pentagon's safety and operational threshold," making it difficult to respond to emergencies. The US military, which uses Ben-Gurion for regional worst-case scenario preparations, is now demanding to remain at the airport and potentially increase its presence ahead of emergency scenarios involving Tehran. The issue, which began as a dispute between the Transportation Ministry and Israel's security establishment, now requires intervention from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz.