Settlement Affairs Minister Tzachi Hanegbi said Aug. 25 that Israel opposes the sale of “even one screw” of the F-35 fighter jet to any country in the Middle East, including the United Arab Emirates. “We oppose the sale of even one screw of one plane of the stealth fighters to any country in the Middle East, if we have peace with them or not. That’s our position, and it has been presented in the past and has been clarified in recent weeks.’’
Hanegbi is considered a close ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Still, some Israeli reports claim that Netanyahu knew about such a possibility ahead of announcing the normalization agreement with the UAE. But Netanyahu, speaking at a joint Aug. 24 press conference with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, said, "I have to say simply that this deal did not include Israel’s acceptance of any arms deal and I don’t know of any arms deal that has been agreed upon. It may be contemplated; our position hasn’t changed.’’
