Defense minister: It’s not good for Israel if other countries get F-35

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/defense-minister-its-not-good-for-israel-if-other-countries-get-f-35/

 Defense Minister Benny Gantz on Tuesday warned that the proliferation of the F-35 fighter jet was “not good for Israel,” following reports that the United States would sell the advanced aircraft to the United Arab Emirates.

“It’s not good for Israel that the plane is going around in other places. We need to talk to the Emiratis, to the Americans, and make sure that our security interests are being upheld,” Gantz told reporters in a press conference. 

 On Tuesday morning, the Yedioth Ahronot daily reported that the White House had agreed to sell the fifth-generation aircraft to Abu Dhabi as part of an emerging normalization agreement between the UAE and Israel. The US had long refused to sell the advanced stealth fighter jet to the Emiratis in large part because it would threaten Israel’s so-called “qualitative military edge” in the Middle East.