Israeli Politicians in an Uproar Over Prospect of America Selling F-35 Jets to Saudi Arabia

Party leaders in the Israeli opposition are in an uproar over the prospects of Saudi Arabia acquiring F-35 fighter jets after President Trump announced his intention to sell the advanced warplanes to Riyadh. “I will say that we will be doing that. We’ll be selling F-35s,” Mr. Trump said ahead of his meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman at the White House. The announcement has sparked intense debate in Israel, currently the only country in the Middle East that has the fighter jet. “This is a sell-out of Israel’s security. The Middle East is changing, and not for our benefit,” said Avigdor Lieberman, leader of Yisrael Beitenu party and former defence minister under Prime Minister Netanyahu. Gadi Eisenkot, a former IDF chief and leader of the newly established Yashar party, also reacted strongly to the news, holding Prime Minister Netanyahu directly responsible. “Netanyahu has lost the ability to protect Israel’s national interests. The preoccupation with selling F-35 aircraft to Saudi Arabia reveals the extent to which the Israeli government has lost its ability to influence decisions critical to national security,” Mr. Eisenkot said. The sale of F-35s is believed among Israeli experts and commentators to be linked to a normalization deal with Saudi Arabia. Yet according to Yair Lapid, Opposition leader and Yesh Atid party chief, the F-35s were never part of a deal with the Saudis. “As someone who has been in dozens of discussions on a normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia, the F35 deal was never part of a normalization agreement, because it was clear that Israel’s security required preserving the qualitative advantage,” Mr. Lapid said.Mr. Lapid was foreign minister and then prime minister in 2021 and 2022 respectively where he engaged in talks about expanding the Abraham Accords. “It cannot be that because of the government’s weakness we will give up Israeli security interests and allow the F35 deal,” Mr. Lapid added. The national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, when asked about the prospects of Saudi Arabia acquiring F-35 jets, told the Jewish News Syndicate: “We are in the Middle East — we cannot get confused. We extend a hand to anyone who truly wants to extend a hand and not harm the State of Israel, but we must preserve our superiority.”Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich echoed Mr. Ben-Gvir, telling JNS that he was “confident, with God’s help, that Israel’s security superiority will remain, in all aspects.”“It’s a matter of national security and our dialogue with the Americans. How to maintain Israel’s advantage and security superiority; that’s what is being discussed behind closed doors,” Mr. Smotrich added.

Israeli Politicians in an Uproar Over Prospect of America Selling F-35 Jets to Saudi Arabia

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