News / Palestine

Israel, Pakistan, UAE to join drill in US

Wednesday, 03 August 2016 9:56 AM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 03 August 2016 10:06 AM ]

The file photo shows an Israeli F-16 warplane being refueled as part of US-hosted Red Flag war games.

Israeli, Pakistani, and Emirati warplanes are to partake in aerial warfare simulations to be held in the United States.

Reporting on Wednesday, Israeli paper Haaretz said the regime’s warplanes would be flying to the Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, where the so-called Red Flag war games are to be held.

The exercises, to start later in the month, simulate airborne engagement among the respective countries’ warplanes, excluding ground and seaborne targets.

The warplanes representing the Israeli military will be F-16s.

The paper said it contacted the Israeli military to find out why the regime would pit its warplanes against those of Pakistan and the Emirates, with which Tel Aviv has no diplomatic ties, but did not get any replies.

Most Muslim and Arab governments, including that of the UAE, have no diplomatic relations with the Israeli regime, seeking to portray themselves as the traditional adversaries of Tel Aviv and the upholders of the Palestinian cause.

Even so, reports have indicated that several of them, including Saudi Arabia, have had secret relations with Tel Aviv.

Last November, the Associated Press reported that Israel was set to open a “permanent mission” in the UAE, which it said was to operate as part of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in the Emirati capital.

Back in May, Israeli newspaper Arutz Sheva reported that Saudi Arabia and its allies, namely Jordan and Egypt — the only two Arab states with public ties with Israel — had been sending messages to Israel through various emissaries, including former British PM Tony Blair.

They had asked Tel Aviv to resume negotiations under a Saudi proposal to have ties between Arab countries and the Israeli regime restored. The proposal was unveiled in 2002, offering normalized ties with Israel by 22 Arab countries.

Joining the US-based exercise last year were Israeli, Jordanian, and Singaporean aircraft.

The Haaretz report said Israel cooperated with Jordan in the war games last year.

“At the time, it was reported in foreign media outlets that Israeli aircraft even refueled Jordanian jets en route to the United States for the exercise,” the daily wrote.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk