Date: 2024-12-26 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00019531
Geopoliics / Middle East
Military Aircraft Sales
Israel demands compensation from US for sale of F-35s to UAE
Peter Burgess
The Israeli Air Force's latest fighter jet, the F-35l seen in flight on December 13, 2016 [Israeli Air Force / WikiMedia]
Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth revealed yesterday that Tel Aviv demanded compensation in return for the US-UAE arms deal which would see the Emirates provided with F-35 fighter jets.
The newspaper said that the Israeli security establishment is now discussing the compensation package that Israel will demand, adding that among the options being examined is advancing the date for the supply of advanced American weapons systems to Israel by one year.
According to the newspaper, the compensation request indicates that the Israeli defense establishment has realised the fact that the arms deal between the US and the UAE will certainly be concluded in spite of their objections.
It is expected that the possible arms deal with the UAE will be discussed in Congress in the near future, and the Trump administration hopes that the deal will be approved, as the sale appears to be an integral part of the Israeli-Emirati normalisation agreement announced last month.
Israel: intelligence minister insists no F-35s for UAE
According to the New York Times, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu privately approved America’s sale of F-35 fighter jets to the UAE, despite coming out against the deal publicly.
On 13 August, US President Donald Trump announced a peace deal between the UAE and Israel brokered by Washington.
After the diplomatic agreement was announced, the Trump administration pushed an arms deal with the UAE that would include the purchase of F-35 stealth fighters and armed drones, according to the Times.
The US deal also reportedly includes a previously-unreported shipment of EA-18G Growler jets, an electronic warfare plane that can jam enemy air defences, the paper added.