UAE canceled trilateral meeting with US, Israel over F-35 sales: report
Prospect of US selling advanced fighter jets to UAE stirs public controversy in Israel
The UAE canceled a trilateral meeting with US and Israeli representatives that was supposed to take place on Friday at the UN, Walla! reported on Monday.
The three diplomats were supposed to celebrate the agreement to normalize the ties between the two countries, the outlet says.
However, the UAE decided to cancel the public vent in a bid to protest the statements on the prospect of the US selling advanced F-35 stealth fighter jets to the Gulf Kingdom coming from the Israeli security establishment.
Earlier reports in the Israeli media suggested that the sales of F-35s and other advanced military hardware to the UAE came as a secret clasue in the accord to normalize the ties.
However, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied that the agreement included any arrangements on the matter.
He also stressed that Jerusalem's position on this issue was still the same, and it was opposed to sales of high-tech military gear to regional countries.
According to Walla!'s sources, the understanding reached on the F-35 sales in the talks was that Netanyahu would not come out against it publically while voicing his protests in private.
The UAE reportedly said that there will be no further public meetings with Israel until there is clarity on its position regarding the military hardware sales.