Israel Opposes US Sales of F-35 to UAE Despite Peace Deal

Jet sales were 'secret clause' in deal

Adding to US arms sales-related talk about the Israel-UAE peace, signs are that the deal was meant to lead to US sales of F-35 jets to the UAE. Israel, however, is warning against that, saying they oppose such sales.

The UAE is bristling at the opposition for a few reasons. They just got done with normalization with Israel, and this hardly seems like Israel acting normal with someone they’re on good terms with. It’s also weird that Israel feels entitled to tell the US which nations they can and can’t sell to.

All indications are that there was a ‘secret clause’ in the deal, which entitled the UAE to buy F-35s and certain drones from the US without objection. This was a condition insisted by the UAE crown prince, and said Israel would no longer object.

That Israel is still objecting could be a problem with the deal, though it remains to be seen if the US will still sell to the UAE, in keeping with the secret clause, or if they will continue with the historical trend of letting Israel dictate who can buy what.

While Trump is keen to spin this as a pro-Israel move, he’s also a big fan of selling arms to the UAE, and that makes this a potentially difficult decision for him to make.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.