Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on the 24th that Israel has agreed to the sale of F-35 fighter jets by the United States to the United Arab Emirates.
With the help of the United States, Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced on August 13 that their relations will be fully normalized, and on September 15 they signed a relationship normalization agreement at the White House of the United States. Netanyahu has repeatedly emphasized that Israel’s stance on US arms sales is not part of the negotiations on the normalization of Israeli-Arab relations. UAE officials hinted that the parties “reached some kind of tacit agreement.”
For decades, the United States has maintained a military policy that favors Israel. Although it also sells weapons to other Middle Eastern allies such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt, it is not the most sophisticated and advanced weapon. The purpose is to ensure Israel’s superiority in weapons and equipment.
The Gulf Arab countries previously expressed a strong interest in buying F-35 fighters, but because of Israel’s strong opposition, the United States failed to make a sale.
Netanyahu told reporters on the evening of the 24th that after Israel and the UAE signed an agreement at the White House last month, “the Americans told us that the UAE has been seeking to purchase F-35 fighters and hopes that we will consider agreeing to this.”
According to Netanyahu, Israel sent a delegation to the Pentagon for consultations. The United States promised to Israel to continue to ensure Israel’s military superiority in the Middle East. “Israel did not agree to this arms sale until yesterday.”
If the transaction goes smoothly, the UAE will become the first Arab country to have F-35 fighters, and the second Middle Eastern country after Israel to have F-35 fighters. Sources disclosed last month that in order to ensure Israel’s military superiority, the stealth performance of the F-35 fighters sold by the United States to the UAE may be compromised.
In addition, the US government has always required F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin to guarantee that the performance of F-35 fighters sold to foreign countries must be lower than that of F-35 fighters used by the US military.
