Riyadh Asking For F-35 Jets in Exchange for Normalization With ‘Israel’ - Yedioth

By Staff

‘Israeli’ Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported that Saudi Arabia and the ‘Israeli’ entity 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 which cited three sources, Yedioth noted that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Zionist 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.”

The Zionist 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 so-called Abraham Accords were 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 Tel Aviv’s so-called military edge in the region among other reasons.

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

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

Saudi Arabia may gain a position in managing Al-Aqsa Mosque in the looming agreement, which could negatively affect ties between the Tel Aviv regime and Jordan, the paper 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.  

“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 the Zionist occupation regime 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 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.