Possible F-35 Jet Sale to U.A.E. Puts Israel in Bind
August 20 2020 - 2:46PM
Dow Jones News
By Felicia Schwartz
TEL AVIV -- Talks between the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates
on a potential sale of advanced F-35 jets is raising thorny
questions for Israel's security in the Middle East.
The U.A.E. has long sought the jet fighters, and the deal last
week to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel was forged with
an understanding that the Emiratis could have access to more
advanced American military hardware, according to U.S. officials.
Up until recently, Washington had rebuffed the requests for
advanced jet fighters because of the shared policy of ensuring
Israel maintained a qualitative military edge in a region where it
has many enemies. President Trump said Wednesday that talks on the
sales are under way.
Any change now in Israel's capacity to acquire the latest
military equipment -- and deprive it from potential rivals -- risks
tipping the balance of power in the region, analysts warn. "It's
not just a real time issue, it also enhances Israel's deterrent
capacity," said Aaron David Miller, a former adviser to Democratic
and Republican secretaries of state now at the Carnegie Endowment
for International Peace.
The F-35s, advanced fifth generation stealth fighters that can't
be seen by most enemies, are particularly sensitive. Israel has
purchased about 50 of the jets, including 20 that have arrived so
far, and used them in Syria to carry out strikes as part of its
campaign to erode Tehran's military foothold in Syria.
Since Israel and the U.S. agreed on maintaining Israel's
superiority, nearby and neighboring countries have received
advanced jets like F-15s and F-16s, but only years after Israel
already had them.
The U.A.E. reached a diplomatic breakthrough with Israel,
brokered by the Trump administration, in part because the Gulf Arab
nation shares a hostility to Iran. American and Israeli officials
say such a sale isn't explicitly part of the agreement, though the
Emiratis say it sets the stage for it.
"The U.A.E. expects its requests will be accepted," Anwar
Gargash, U.A.E. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said at an
event hosted by the Atlantic Council think tank. "And we feel that
with the signing of the peace treaty [with Israel]...any hurdles
should now longer be there."
Iran has hundreds of short- and medium-range ballistic missiles,
which it sees as a way to compensate for the limitations of its air
force, experts say. Iran's air fleet has been hobbled by decades of
sanctions, putting it at a disadvantage to regional rivals with
more advanced air power, including Israel, Saudi Arabia and the
U.A.E.
On Wednesday, President Trump told reporters that the Emirati
interest in buying the jets was under review and linked it to the
recent U.S.-backed accord. "They would like to order quite a few
F-35s," he said.
While Israel and the U.A.E. share common interests against rival
Iran for now, Israeli officials worry about losing the country's
military advantage in the region over the long term. Any sale to
the U.A.E. could take five to eight years to complete and a future
presidential administration could block it, officials and analysts
said.
That the diplomatic deal with the U.A.E. possibly came with
implicit Israeli approval for the transfer of advanced American
military hardware to the Arab nation has elicited fierce criticism
from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's own coalition
partners.
"It is forbidden to take risks with security," Benny Gantz, the
defense minister and also a former Israeli military chief, told
reporters on Tuesday. He said Mr. Netanyahu only informed him about
the deal with the U.A.E. after it was reached.
The possible sales also sparked criticism from Israel's security
establishment.
"Israel must never forget, not even for an split second, that
any dent in its strength is liable to pull the rug out from under
its feet in the long term," Amos Gilad, former head of the Defense
Ministry's political-military affairs bureau, wrote in leading
daily Yedioth Ahronoth on Thursday. "It is imperative that Israel
prevent the sale of F-35 planes to any country in the Middle East
and that it reserves its capabilities and similar ones for
itself."
Officials said the F-35 gives Israel clear superiority in the
region, and that while the U.A.E. is friendly now, that could
change. They point to Turkey, which had planned to buy 116 Lockheed
Martin Corp.-made F-35 fighters but was formally ejected from the
program last summer after Ankara decided to purchase a Russian
air-defense system.
"Turkey is a cautionary tale," said Mark Dubowitz, chief
executive of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a
Washington think tank. It shows "what happens when you commit to
sell F-35s to an ally which years later under a different
government becomes hostile to the U.S. and Israel."
--Stephen Kalin in Riyadh and Warren Strobel in Washington, D.C.
contributed to this article.
Write to Felicia Schwartz at Felicia.Schwartz@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 20, 2020 14:31 ET (18:31 GMT)
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