The Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee convened today to discuss the expected sale of the F-35 stealth jet by the United States to the United Arab Emirates. Opposition members slammed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for allegedly approving the deal ahead of signing the normalization agreement with the Emirates on Sept. 15. They believe Abu Dhabi conditioned normalization on Jerusalem approving it. They also believe that Netanyahu deliberately hid this information from Israeli citizens in general and the defense establishment in particular out of fear that public criticism would delay or sabotage the normalization agreement.
The revelation about an alleged triple understanding between Israel, the United States and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the sale of the F-35 alongside the normalization agreement angered many seniors in Israel’s political and security systems, especially Defense Minister Benny Gantz. The prime minister repeatedly denied that Israeli approval for the sale of stealth jets, as well as the sale of other advanced weapons, were part of the UAE deal, but Gantz continued to question that. Realizing there was little he could do to stop the deal, Gantz went to Washington on Oct. 22 and together with Secretary of Defense Mark Esper signed an agreement for maintaining Israel’s military qualitative edge in the Middle East in other ways.
