It expects to maintain access to more advanced US weapons than other Middle Eastern countries, an administration spokesman said Thursday when asked about Washington’s plan to sell warplanes to
Israel is the only country in the Middle East that uses the F-35 model, one of the most advanced fighter jets ever built. US law, after all, guarantees Israel a “qualitative military advantage” in the region.
“The United States and Israel have a long-standing agreement, which is that Israel maintains a qualitative advantage in terms of its defense,” Israeli government spokeswoman Sosh Bedrossian told reporters.
“This was true yesterday, this was true today, and the prime minister (Benjamin Netanyahu) believes this will be true tomorrow and in the future,” he added.
The sale of F-35s to Saudi Arabia
The spokeswoman’s comments were the first official comment from the Israeli government on the sale to , which
Saudi Arabia does not officially recognize the state of Israel. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, said during a visit to Washington this week that the kingdom wants formal ties with Israel but also wants to ensure a clear path to a two-state solution with Palestinian independence.
Israel’s Netanyahu strongly opposes Palestinian statehood.
US officials have said the Saudi jets will not have advanced features found on Israel’s F-35 fighter jets, which include advanced weapons systems and electronic warfare equipment.
