Netanyahu responded on Tuesday to a report in one of the country’s leading newspapers accusing the existence of a “secret clause” in Israel’s deal to normalize relations with the UAE – one that would allow the UAE billions of dollars for sale in advanced US military hardware, including drones, F-35 stealth fighters and other weapons.
The story caused hackles in Israel because of the potential threat to Israel’s military superiority in the region. Israel has long opposed the sale of strategic weapons systems to other countries in the Middle East and has repeatedly raised concerns about the possibility in the weeks leading up to the normalization agreement.
In Washington, an official at the White House National Security Council (CNN) addressed the written announcement of the deal, which does not include clauses or references to arms deals. “The deal is the joint statement we released on Thursday,” the official said, referring to the 556-word statement on the White House website.
In other corners of the US capital, reports of the proven deal came as a surprise.
State Department officials dealing with U.S. arms sales to foreign countries were shocked by the reports, two State Department officials said, adding that if there is one such agreement, they do not were informed about it.
If there was a sale to the UAE, the State Department would be in charge of overseeing the process. During that process, which requires congressional approval to finalize, the U.S. must ensure that Israel maintains its qualitative military edge in the region, a requirement written in U.S. law in 2008. The State Department directed investigations into the White House. House.
At Capitol Hill, Republican and Democratic aides said relevant Hill commissions have not been informed of a deal of this nature and have no new transfers to the UAE at this time for review.
Netanyahu’s office backed his tweet with a lengthy statement that categorically denied that the deal contained any notion of U.S. arms sales to the UAE.
“The historic peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates does not include Israel’s consent to an arms deal between the United States and the UAE,” the statement said. “From the outset, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has opposed the sale of F-35s and other advanced weapons to any country in the Middle East, including Arab countries that have peace agreements with the state of Israel.”
The release of Netanyahu follows a story in the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, who said that UAE Crown Prince and de facto leader Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan had demanded a clause in the agreement that could allow the Emirates to reach billions dollars of F-value to buy 35 fighter jets, drones and other advanced weapons. The report quoted unnamed US and Emirati officials.
The US, Israel and the UAE announced the plan to normalize relations on 13 August. Since then, phone lines have opened between the two countries and business deals have been announced.
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who had just been released from hospital after back surgery, decided that the story alerted a press conference. He said the proliferation of the F-35 was “not good for Israel”, adding: “We need to talk to the Emirates, to the Americans, and ensure that our security interests are established.”
The reports have provoked widespread reaction for several reasons.
First, there is the way the UAE – Israel deal was done. Unusual for an agreement of this nature, Netanyahu kept his foreign minister and defense minister (who was usually from competing parties) in the dark, telling Israeli media that he did so at the request of the US.
According to Israeli newspaper reports, this was the first time the two ministers had heard about Israel agreeing to suspend plans to annex parts of the West Bank in exchange for normalization with the UAE when the agreement was announced.
An ideal drone customer
Second is the advanced weapon itself. The UAE is seen as an ideal drone customer and was the client that some U.S. officials cited as potential beneficiaries, following the recent licensing of the drone export rule.
Some U.S. defense officials have also expressed interest in getting the UAE the F-35 after Turkey was kicked out of the program, leaving more than 100 jets without a customer. The UAE military is seen as potentially more capable of integrating and operating the advanced aircraft, unlike other regional militaries, such as Saudi Arabia.
The third reason the story has gripped may be an August 14 interview that U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman gave to NPR. Asked if the UAE-Israel deal would mean Abu Dhabi now with advanced American weapons, he replied, somewhat cryptically: “The more the Emirates become a friend of Israel, become a partner with Israel, a regional ally of the United States, I think of course that that assesses the threat and could work out the Emirates’ response to that issue. ”
And indeed there is Netanyahu’s statement, which indicates that Israel has repeatedly raised concerns about the possibility of advanced arms sales to “any country in the Middle East” in July and August – and that the Prime Minister himself had told Friedman they would not be acceptable.
Explicit objections
“In his July 7 conversation with US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, Prime Minister Netanyahu was explicitly in Israel’s opposition to the sale of F-35s and other advanced weapons to any country in the Middle East, including those with peace agreements with Israel, “the statement said.
“On July 8, the Prime Minister sent a letter – through Ambassador Friedman – to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reiterating that Israel’s position would not change, even after reaching peace agreements,” the statement continued.
It goes on to say that on August 3, led by Netanyahu, Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer met with Pompeo and once again “underlined Israel’s opposition to the sale of F-35s and other advanced weapons systems to every country in the Middle East.” -Easten. “
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