Tony Blinken, chief political advisor to US presidential candidate Joe Biden, said the sale of the F-35s to the United Arab Emirates leaves the impression that the normalization agreement between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv was a kind of "bargain."
Blinken added in an interview with The Times of Israel, published on Sunday, that he is not satisfied with the Trump administration's commitment to selling the most advanced American fighter to the UAE, especially as this coincided with the normalization negotiations with Israel this summer.
The American advisor admitted that the administration of former US President Barack Obama had allocated that plane to Israel "and Israel only in the region."
The American official welcomed the recent normalization agreements, and said that the Obama administration worked to encourage recognition of Israel and normalization with it, stressing that this policy will be supported with the Biden administration, explaining that the two-state solution remains the only way to guarantee the future of Israel as a democratic Jewish state, while ensuring the Palestinians' right to a state .
Blinken stressed Biden's "unwavering commitment to the security of Israel", stressing that the US presidential candidate firmly believes in not giving up Israel's security "even at times when he may disagree with some of its policies."
On Thursday, US President Donald Trump's administration informed Congress of its intention to sell F-35s to the UAE, after Israel lifted its veto on the deal, in light of the normalization of relations between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv.
Reuters quoted sources as saying that the White House has informed Congress that it intends to sell 50 of these advanced warplanes, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, to the UAE.
The cost of the deal is $ 10.4 billion, according to a recent report by Politico.
Congress
On Saturday, it was announced that Elliot Engle, Chairman of the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee and a number of Democrats, submitted a bill entitled "The Law on the Protection of Advanced Technology in the Middle East", after the US administration announced its intention to sell 50 F-35s For the UAE.
The draft law provides for restricting the sale of specific types of American weapons to countries in the Middle East, with the exception of Israel, unless those countries meet a set of standards aimed at ensuring protection of Israel's qualitative military advantage and not using it to violate international humanitarian law.
The bill requires states wishing to obtain US defense equipment to have signed a peace or normalization agreement with Israel, and to amend weapons to ensure Tel Aviv's ability to identify, locate and track them.
The draft law stipulates that the recipient country does not violate international humanitarian law or internationally recognized human rights, and that the recipient country consults with the United States regarding the mission, flight plan, and the purpose of using the weapons.