Israel is annoyed that a different murderous regime is getting advanced US jets

Say one thing about Israel. Say it loves to bomb things. Refugee camps, hospitals, houses, kids — it doesn’t really care. And it has a particular taste for doing so with American equipment. But now with the American – Saudi F-35 deal, it isn’t the only country in the region which will get to enjoy the American war machines.

Now Saudi Arabia looks to have secured F-35 fighter jets. And, despite the two countries being essentially aligned as allies of the US empire, Israel isn’t happy.

But what’s unusual is the timing. Any Saudi F-35 deal was supposed to have conditions. And the biggest one was that the Gulf theocracy, Saudi Arabia, normalise relations with the genocidal settler state, Israel.

As CNN reports:

Israel would normalize relations with Saudi Arabia, paving the way for ties with the wider Muslim world. In exchange, the Saudis would get a US security package that includes F-35 stealth fighter jets — fifth-generation aircraft that would cement Riyadh’s relationship with Washington as it opened a new chapter with Israel.

But now that core condition seems to have been dropped.

On 17 October, US president Donald Trump said:

We will be doing that. We will be selling F-35s [to Saudi].

Saudi F-35—Air superiority eroded

The announcement caused concern in Israel — it is feared the regime’s regional air superiority could be eroded.

The Times of Israel reported that on 18 November the IDF has presented a report to the US raising their objections:

The Israeli Air Force presented an explicit objection to the US’s potential sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia in a formal position paper submitted to political leaders on Sunday, saying Israel’s air superiority in the region could be damaged by the deal.

The Times added:

Israel has operated the aircraft for nearly a decade, building multiple squadrons, and remains the only Middle Eastern country to possess it.

Keeping the edge

Despite internal concerns, Israel commented publicly on 20 November. A spokesperson insisted the Saudi jets would not be as advanced as the Israeli version:

The United States and Israel have a long-standing understanding, which is that Israel maintains the qualitative edge when it comes to its defense.

That has been true yesterday, that has been true today, and the Prime Minister (Benjamin Netanyahu) believes that will be true tomorrow and in the future.

The F-35 is a highly advanced and stealthy fifth-generation fighter. Israel has 45 in service and a further 30 on order.

Lockheed Martin call the plane the “most lethal, survivable, and connected fighter aircraft” in the world “integrating air, land, sea, space, and cyber operations to lead the fight and deliver a decisive advantage”.

The Irish Times reported that Saudi’s keenness to push through the deal came from Israel’s 9 September attack on Qatar:

Riyadh decided self-defence is the best guarantee of security after Israel bombed Qatar on September 9th, targeting a Hamas facility authorised by the US which maintains its main regional air base in the emirate.

Saudi Arabia has long insisted normal relations with Israel would require an Israeli commitment to a Palestinian state. Needless to say, Israel’s leadership rejects the notion.

Once again Trump has shown he is willing to operate outside established foreign policy norms. By arming Saudi Arabia, he is changing the balance of power in the colonised Middle East. What the outcomes will be remains to be seen. But the chief victims of the US practice of arming and playing off its vassal states and regional allies will most likely still be those with least power.

Featured image via the Canary