Netanyahu, Gantz Approve US Sale of F-35s to UAE

Israel's Prime Minister (PM) Benjamin Netanyahu announced Friday that he would not oppose the US sale of “certain weapon systems” to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), an apparent reference to the advanced F-35 stealth fighter jets.

He added that Washington had given Israel assurances that it would “significantly upgrade” Israel’s military capabilities in exchange.

The circumspect language of the statement comes after he had previously vehemently denied a media report that Israel had given a green light for Washington to sell the advanced jets to the UAE  as part of the normalization deal with Israel.

The joint statement from Netanyahu and Defense Minister Benny Gantz came at the same time that US President Donald Trump announced that Israel had reached a normalization deal with Sudan, the third Arab country in recent months.

The statement said that upon returning to Israel on Friday from meetings with US Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Gantz briefed Netanyahu on deals reached for the “procurement of advanced weapon systems that will significantly upgrade Israel’s military capabilities, maintain its security and its military advantage in the region as well as its qualitative military edge in the coming decades.”

“During the visit, Defense Minister Gantz was notified by the US administration of its plans to notify Congress of its intention to provide certain weapon systems to the UAE,” the statement said without specifically mentioning the F-35s.

“The Prime Minister and the Defense Minister both agree that since the US is upgrading Israel’s military capability and is maintaining Israel’s qualitative military edge, Israel will not oppose the sale of these systems to the UAE,” it said.

Minutes after the Israeli statement, Trump, asked by reporters about the sale of F-35s to the UAE, said: “That process is moving along.”

Days after the UAE normalization announcement, the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported that as part of the negotiations, Netanyahu had signed off on the US sale of F-35s to the Gulf state — a move that critics warned would threaten Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge in the Region, which the US is legally bound to maintain.