Saudi Arabia asking for F-35 jets in exchange for normalization: Report

An Israeli paper claims Saudi Arabia and Israel have been in direct contact for the normalization of ties as Riyadh has set the Unites States’ selling of advanced weapons, including F-35 fighter jets, as one of the conditions for arriving at an agreement.

In a report on Thursday and citing three sources, Israeli outlet Yedioth Ahronoth claimed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been in direct contact.

“Bin Salman has set some conditions including solving ties with Biden administration in issues such as removal of the ban on selling advanced weapons, particularly F-35 fighter jets, to Saudi Arabia,” reads the report as cited by Lebanon’s Al-Ahed News.

The Israeli regime has been one of the opponents of F-35 delivery to Saudi Arabia and other regional states.

The stealth fighter jet also had a key role when the Abraham Accords was signed in September 2020 as the US pledged to sell 50 F-35 fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). After two years, however, the deal has been at a standstill due to concerns over Israel’s so-called military edge in the region among other reasons.

Read more:

• Biden administration suspends F-35 sale to UAE

The Israeli newspaper said fulfilling such conditions may be hard or even impossible.

Netanyahu has made no commitment to settling the Palestinian-Israeli conflict but he has underscored he would not annex the West Bank during his first term as prime minister, according to the report.

The UAE signed the Abraham Accords after Saudi Arabia “showed the green light,” the report claimed, adding these agreements would have not been reached in absence of Riyadh’s consent.

Saudi Arabia assesses the Abraham Accords as a “successful” experience and thinks it is possible to move to the “next stage,” reads the report.

According to the Israeli media, chances of arriving at an agreement are not high because of strict conditions put forward by the sides but the Saudis have shown great attention, indicating that Bin Salman is “truly ready” for negotiations.

The required infrastructure for talks is available as Israel and Saudi Arabia continue their cooperation against Iran with the US’s CENTCOM acting as a coordinator, it added.

Saudi Arabia may gain a position in managing Al-Aqsa Mosque in the looming agreement, which could negatively affect ties between Israel and Jordan, it claimed elsewhere, adding that it is a “long time” that the sides are in “direct contact” and it seems that both are happy with the results.

This comes just one week after Netanyahu took to Saudi broadcaster Al Arabiya to push for the normalization of ties with the Arab country.  

Read more:

• Netanyahu eyeing normalization with Saudi Arabia amid increased raids on Palestinians

“I think we can have a new peace initiative that will form a quantum leap for the achievement of the resolution of both the Arab-Israeli conflict and ultimately, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict,” he said. “And of course, I’m referring to what could be a truly remarkable historic peace with Saudi Arabia,” he said, claiming that a normalization deal, like those signed with other Arab states, would “change our region in ways that are unimaginable.”

The UAE and Bahrain signed US-brokered normalization agreements with Israel in an event in Washington in September 2020. Sudan and Morocco followed suit later that year. Palestinians have condemned the deals as a treacherous “stab in the back.”

Saudi Arabia claims it would only normalize ties upon the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders. However, the regimes have been fraternizing for years.

In 2020, Netanyahu reportedly paid a secret visit to Riyadh, meeting with bin Salman.

The same year saw the two sides opening their “airspaces” to flights. The first Israeli flight to the Saudi capital took place in October 2021.

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