Monday, 02 November 2020_US President Donald Trump has okayed the idea of selling the F-22 Raptor stealth aircraft to Israel to maintain Tel Aviv's alleged “military edge” in the Middle East as Washington plans to sell F-35s to the United Arab Emirates.
The London-based Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper cited senior sources in Tel Aviv as saying that US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper had told Israeli officials during a visit to Israel last week that the Trump administration had approved the sale of F-22s and precision-guided bombs to Israel.
Israeli officials asked to buy the F-22 to maintain Israel’s alleged “military edge” in the region after the US agreed to sell F-35 fighters to the United Arab Emirates, the Israeli daily Haaretz said.
Last month, the Trump administration notified Congress of its intent to sell F-35s to the UAE.
The reports of the US intention began after Israel and the UAE on August 13 agreed to a full normalization of diplomatic relations between the two sides.
The agreement sparked anger in the Middle East and elsewhere, with Palestinian leaders describing it as a “stab in the back” by an Arab country.
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