Israel rejects Qatari acquisition of the American F-35s

Israeli Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen announced today that his country will oppose the sale of the United States "F-35" aircraft to Qatar on Sunday.

11 October, 2020 09:35

NEWS DESK

This statement comes a day after reports stated that Qatar had applied to the United States of America to purchase these aircraft.

The Israeli newspaper "Maariv" quoted Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen as saying, "We oppose any deal between the United States and Qatar involving the sale of F-35s."

Since 2016, Israel began receiving batches of 50 F-35s that it had agreed with the United States to purchase, and currently Israel has more than 28 of this model.

Israel is the only country in the region that owns this plane.

Qatar's request for this type of aircraft raises fears of threatening stability in the region, and enhancing the capabilities of the Qatari-Turkish-Iranian triangle in fueling crises.

This is what was reported by the "Jerusalem Post" newspaper, which considered the Qatari request "surprising", especially as it comes in the wake of the signing of the peace treaty between Israel and the UAE, in the middle of last month.

J.O