In an unusual move, the Prime Minister’s office released a detailed denial to the report that Prime Minister Netanyahu approved the US sale of advanced F-35 aircrafts to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as part of the peace deal.
Since the deal was revealed, Jared Kushner, the White House and reporters have made many claims as to what the prime minister privately agreed to as part of the UAE deal, including agreeing to a map with the borders of a Palestinian state.
In every other case, Netanyahu put out a carefully worded response that could fit a variety of spins, narratives and interpretations. His most common refrain is that he agreed to negotiate within the parameters of President Trump’s Deal of the Century, while never directly contradicting the statements and claims of his accusers.
But regarding the claim that Netanyahu agreed to allow the US to sell F-35s to the UAE, the Prime Minister’s office released a statement that left no wiggle room for doubt that he claims the report is completely fake news.
The strongly-worded denial includes a timeline of Netanyahu’s unequivocal opposition to the F-35 sale to the UAE, as well as who else was informed, when, and how the message of opposition was repeatedly reiterated to the US administration.
PMO Statement on the Historic Peace Agreement with the UAE
Communicated by the Prime Minister’s Media AdviserThe historic peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates did not include Israel’s consent to any arms deal whatsoever between the United States and the UAE.
From the outset, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has opposed the sale of F-35s and other advanced weaponry to any country in the Middle East, including Arab countries that have peace agreements with the State of Israel.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has repeatedly expressed this position to the American administration and it has not changed. The consistent opposition to the sale of F-35s was reiterated on 2 June 2020 by the head of the National Security Council, who spoke with GOC Air Force Maj.-Gen. Amikam Norkin, at the request of Prime Minister Netanyahu.
In his 7 July conversation with US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, Prime Minister Netanyahu was explicit in Israel’s opposition to the sale of F-35s and other advanced weaponry to any country in the Middle East, including those with peace agreements with Israel. On 8 July, the Prime Minister sent a letter – via Ambassador Friedman – to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in which he reiterated that Israel’s position remains unchanged even following the reaching of peace agreements.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz was updated on this position on 29 July.
On 3 August, on instruction from the Prime Minister, Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer met with US Secretary of State Pompeo and underscored Israel’s opposition to the sale of F-35s and other advanced weapons systems to any country in the Middle East.
The peace agreement with the United Arab Emirates does not include any reference to arms sales and the US has made it clear that it will always take strict care to maintain Israel’s qualitative edge.