JERUSALEM (ISRAEL) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the country would oppose any sale of US F-35 warplanes to the UAE although both states have forged ties. He cited the need to maintain Israeli military superiority in the region.
The prime minister’s statement came after a newspaper reported that the Trump administration was planning a big F-35 deal with the UAE in the wake of the Gulf state normalising ties with Israel through a deal brokered by Washington.
As per an understanding dating back to decades, Washington has refrained from arms sales to Middle East countries that could blunt Israel’s “qualitative military edge” (QME). This has applied to the F-35s.
“In the talks (on the UAE normalisation deal), Israel did not change its consistent positions against the sale to any country in the Middle East of weapons and defence technologies that could tip the (military) balance,” Netanyahu’s office said.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field