JERUSALEM (JTA) — Not all is rosy with the United Arab Emirates and Israel in the aftermath of their peace accord.
The UAE canceled a public meeting with the United States and Israel meant to celebrate the so-called Abraham Accords over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s public opposition to the U.S. sale of F-35 advanced fighter jets to the Arab nation.
Senior UAE officials wanted to send a message to Israel that they were disappointed with Netanyahu’s public statements on the sale of the F-35s, the Hebrew-language Walla news website first reported, citing an unnamed source involved in the cancellation.
Ambassadors from the three countries were scheduled to meet Friday at the United Nations.
The Emirates also will hold no other public political meetings with the two countries until Israel’s position on such a sale is “clarified,” according to the report.
Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed the potential sale during meetings Monday in Israel, as did Pompeo and Defense Minister Benny Gantz. Pompeo is scheduled to visit the UAE on Tuesday.
White House senior adviser Jared Kushner said Sunday in an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria that the peace agreement between Israel and the UAE “should increase the probability” of an F-35 jet sale to the Emirates.
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