The United States pledged Thursday in writing to maintain
Israel's "
military superiority
" over other countries in the region, while the Jewish state is worried about a possible sale to the United Arab Emirates of aircraft. American F-35 fighter.
US Defense Minister Mark Esper and his Israeli counterpart Benny Gantz signed a joint document after talks in Washington, according to official photos released by the Pentagon.
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The US Department of Defense has remained very discreet about the content of this document, but Mr. Gantz said in a tweet that this joint statement "
confirms the strategic commitment of the United States to the qualitative military superiority of the Hebrew state for years to come
”.
He did not give more details but according to Israeli media, the American commitment covers four years, until the end of a hypothetical second term of President Donald Trump.
“
It was important for me to reaffirm once again the special relationship between our two countries,
” said Mr. Esper.
"
We are determined to maintain Israel's qualitative military superiority in arms sales and reaffirm our commitment to Israel's long-standing, guaranteed and unwavering security
, ”he added.
Historically, Israel has opposed the sale of F-35s to other countries in the Middle East, including Jordan and Egypt (countries with which it has signed peace agreements), because it wants to maintain its technological superiority.
But Mr. Trump assured that he would have "
no problem
" selling the latest generation F-35 fighters to the United Arab Emirates, after the signing last month of historic normalization agreements between Israel on the one hand, and the Emirates and Bahrain on the other.
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Fearing that even if Democrat Joe Biden wins the presidential election, Mr. Trump will seal a deal with the Emirates before his term ends at the end of January, two Democratic senators have tabled a bill regulating the sale of F-35s abroad.
The text provides that the president of the United States, whoever he is, will be able to sell these high-tech stealth fighters only if he can "
certify to Congress that the aviation technology of the United States and the security of Israel are fully protected
”.
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