Renewed denial despite the leaks .. Israel is firmly against selling F-35 fighters to the UAE

Israeli Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen said that Israel is firmly against selling F-35 fighters and other advanced weapons to the UAE, at a time when the two countries prepare for a ceremony to sign an agreement to normalize relations between them.

Cohen explained in an interview with an Israeli channel that the Israelis will work to prevent the sale of any weapon that harms Israel's military and qualitative superiority in the region, and it will work in Congress to prevent this.

This came while preparations were being made for the signing of the agreement to normalize relations between the UAE and Israel in Washington within the next 10 days.

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- כאןחדשות (@kann_news) September 4, 2020

On August 13, the UAE and Israel reached an agreement to normalize relations between them.

On Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office denied again its approval of the United States selling F-35 fighters to the UAE.

The (official) Israeli Broadcasting Corporation quoted a statement from Netanyahu's office, stating that "the repetition of the false allegation against Prime Minister Netanyahu does not make it true."

The American New York Times quoted officials familiar with the talks as saying that "Netanyahu secretly approved a plan by the administration of US President Donald Trump to sell advanced weapons to the UAE, despite the prime minister's public opposition to the deal at a later time."

The officials said Netanyahu chose not to try to block the deal, as he has participated in a broader effort in recent months to secure a diplomatic breakthrough to normalize relations between Israel and the UAE.

In recent weeks, the White House has accelerated its efforts to sell advanced weapons to the UAE, including F-35 fighter jets and Reaper drones.

The deal also includes EA-18G Growler planes and electronic warfare aircraft that pave the way for covert attacks by jamming the enemy's air defenses. This element of the package has not been previously reported.