Kushner: Israel-UAE peace makes F-35 sale more likely
Netanyahu opposes such a sale to any other country in the Middle East, and made his position known to the US on several occasions.
By LAHAV HARKOVJARED KUSHNER, senior adviser to the president, listens to US President Donald Trump speak with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House last year.(photo credit: CARLOS BARRIA / REUTERS)
The peace agreement between Israel and the UAE increased the chances that the latter would be able to buy F-35 stealth jets from the US, White House Special Advisor Jared Kushner said on Sunday.“The UAE has wanted F-35s for a long time,” Kushner said on CNN. “The group that wants them not to get it the most is obviously Iran…and the reality is that this new peace agreement should increase the probability of them getting it.”“The UAE is a tremendous military partner for America for many years,” he added, and selling F-35s is “something we could see potentially happening now as a result of this great breakthrough.”Kushner said the matter is under review in the US State Department and military, and “obviously we’ll look at the QME and do everything in accordance with the right standards.”Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes such a sale to any other country in the Middle East, citing Israel’s qualitative military edge (QME), and made his position known to the US on several occasions. However, talk of the UAE purchasing the planes has raised questions as to whether the prime minister knew it would happen soon after normalization, despite his protestations, and criticism of his not informing the Defense Ministry of the matter.
