By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

Israel reportedly sought advanced US weapons as ‘compensation’ after Washington approved a $24.3 billion F-35 jet sale to Saudi Arabia.

Key Developments

• Israel reportedly planned to seek weapons systems that the Trump administration had previously declined to approve.
• The requested capabilities included bunker-busting munitions, underground systems, space-based weapons and aircraft interceptors.
• Washington approved a possible $24.3 billion sale that would make Saudi Arabia the Arab world’s first F-35 operator.

Israel planned to request additional military capabilities from the United States as “compensation” for Washington’s approval of an F-35 fighter jet sale to Saudi Arabia, Israeli media reported.

According to the Israeli news website Walla, Israeli officials intended to use the Saudi deal to renew requests for weapons systems that the administration of US President Donald Trump had previously declined to approve.

The Israeli request was expected to extend beyond advanced fighter jets and next-generation stealth aircraft. It reportedly included space-based weapons, aircraft-interception capabilities and expanded Israeli development and production of interceptor systems.

The weapons Israel planned to request also included “bunker-busting munitions and underground systems capable of operating deep beneath rocky mountains,” the report said.

Israeli officials viewed the additional weapons package as compensation for the sale of advanced US military aircraft to another country in the region.

Secret CENTCOM Meeting Brings Israel, Arab Military Chiefs Together – Axios

Saudi Deal

The US State Department approved the possible sale of 48 F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia on Thursday.

The proposed package was valued at approximately $24.3 billion and included 49 Pratt & Whitney F135-PW-100 engines, according to a notification submitted to the US Congress.

It also covered cryptographic equipment, electronic-warfare support, training programs and logistical assistance.

The congressional notification began the formal US review process for the proposed sale. The agreement would still require the completion of subsequent negotiations and contractual procedures.

If finalized, the deal would make Saudi Arabia the first Arab country to acquire the F-35, the United States’ most advanced operational fighter aircraft.

Israel is currently the only country in the Middle East operating the aircraft.

The US and Israel: A ‘Special Relationship’ Built on Lies and Deceit

Military Advantage

The reported demand reflected Israel’s longstanding effort to preserve what it describes as its “qualitative military edge” over other countries in the Middle East.

Successive US administrations have provided Israel with advanced weapons and military technology while assessing whether arms sales to other regional governments could affect Israel’s military superiority.

The Saudi deal came as relations between Riyadh and Tel Aviv remained strained over Palestinian statehood and normalization.

Saudi Arabia has repeatedly maintained that it would not establish formal relations with Israel without the creation of a Palestinian state along the 1967 borders.

That position is supported by most of the international community but rejected by the Israeli government, which has continued expanding illegal settlements across the occupied West Bank.

(PC, Anadolu)