On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would not oppose the US sale of “certain weapon systems” to the UAE after securing a guarantee from Washington that Israel will get new weapons in exchange. Although he did not mention the stealth fighter jets by name, Netanyahu’s statement was an apparent reference to the potential US sale of F-35s to the UAE.
Netanyahu made the announcement in a joint statement with Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who signed a pact with US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper in Washington on Thursday. The agreement signed with Esper reaffirmed the US’s commitment to upholding Israel’s military superiority over its neighbors, known as the Qualitative Military Edge (QME).
According to the statement released by the two Israeli officials on Friday, Gantz briefed Netanyahu on deals reached with the US for “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. “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.”
According to The Times of Israel, a senior Israeli defense official said the deal inked on Thursday was a general commitment by the US to uphold Israel’s QME, and talks are ongoing about what specific weapon systems Washington would provide to offset the F-35 sale. In September, Netanyahu submitted a wishlist of advanced weaponry to President Trump worth $8 billion.
Upholding Israel’s QME is mandated by US law. There has been opposition to the F-35 sale in Congress over QME concerns. A group of bipartisan lawmakers introduced a bill in the House that would effectively give Israel veto powers over US arms sales to the Middle East. Now that Netanyahu has signed off on the deal, the opposition in Congress will likely fade.
News of Israel’s approval of the sale came as President Trump announced Sudan’s intention to normalize relations with Israel, the third Arab nation to do so after the UAE and Bahrain. When asked about the sale of F-35s to the UAE on Friday, President Trump said, “That process is moving along.”
Of course, Israel has veto power over Congress/Potus. So what’s new.
But, Israel is our only ally in the Middle East!
Just Google “Israel sells us secrets”
With friends like Israel, we don’t need enemies.
What does Hamas want to do after it defeats Israel?
When the rocket attacks first began against Israel, a senior Hamas leader, Dr. Yunis Al-Astal, published an article in the Hamas journal, Al-Risala, where he compared Hamas’ al-Qassam rockets to the Manjaniq catapult which the Prophet Muhammad used against the Jews of Khaybar. The fall of Khaybar, he explained, opened the gates of the Byzantine Empire to Muslim conquest and was the first step towards the fall of Constantinople. Now, the fall of Israel, he said, would open the gates of Europe to Islam and lead to the fall of Rome.
Hamas MP and cleric Al-Astal proclaimed in 2008, “We will conquer Rome, and from there continue to conquer the two Americas and even Eastern Europe” (Al-Aqsa TV, April 11, 2008)
It’s in our interest to give Israel weapons so that Israeli soldiers will fight
Hamas over there rather than needing to have American soldiers fight Hamas here.
You already used this nonsensical argument elsewhere. You really should get new material otherwise you might not get paid. Is Hamas coming over here using their Navy or Air Force?
19 Arabs using box cutters murdered 3,000 Americans.
In hijacked planes IF you believe the official story. Now tell me how this portends to the US getting “conquered” if we don’t fight Hamas over there.
Dr. Yunis Al-Astal, published an article in the Hamas journal, Al-Risala, where he compared Hamas’ al-Qassam rockets to the Manjaniq catapult
As far as lethality?
I wonder how much all of our bribery of Israel and the other ME nations costs the U.S. taxpayers?
General George Keegan, former head of U.S. Air Force Intelligence has publicly declared that “Israel is worth five CIA’s.” He further stated that between 1974 and 1990, Israel received $18.3 billion in U.S. military grants. During the same period Israel provided the U.S. with $50-80 billion in intelligence, research and development savings, and Soviet weapons systems captured and transferred to the U.S.
The people in U.S. Intelligence have no credibility with me whatsoever. Israeli intelligence supplied to the U.S. is disinformation and should never be trusted, especially when it comes to Iran and Syria. Israel is the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. aid ($142 billion not inflation adjusted) since World War II.
Its impossible to calculate a hard figure.
Bribery in the form of blind-eying tech piracy and assorted petty and major crimes, business favours, entrance into U.S. educational institutions, all are well under-the-table.
The hard transfers of cash and materiale likely only scratch the surface.
So the “peace deal” was actually part of an arms deal.
They meant “piece”. As in pieces of military hardware.
Quid Pro Quo.
Just another shakedown from the land of the grifter
I never understood the opposition. As sure as the UAE will be a proxy ala ISIS, the UAE will need frontline hardware when the Iran war starts.
Israel can rest a bit more comfortably and not necessarily utilize its air assets. Because they strongly dislike the UAE, Qatar, and the other “partners,” this war of attrition through proxies make the endgame of a Pan Israel throughout the Middle East more achievable.
The UAE would probably be ‘neutral’ while providing logistics support for F-35s and other aircraft.
Another indication of who controls American Foreign Policy.
The IAF, like the U.S., will appreciate having F-35 support facilities at UAE air bases.
The UAE, like most of the Gulf monarchies, not only have no use for F-35s, there’s no way they can possibly maintain them on their own.