Israel must maintain its qualitative military edge, Defense Minister Gabi Ashkenazi said on Tuesday amid reports that the UAE would be able to buy F-35 jets from the US as part of its normalization deal with Israel.“I don’t know of any security promises [to the UAE], and if there were any, they were not made with our support,” Ashkenazi said in a press briefing. “The IDF’s qualitative edge is one of the central parts of our national security.”Ashkenazi’s comments came after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu firmly denied that there is an article allowing the sale of F-35s in the normalization agreement to be signed between Israel and the UAE.The Foreign Minister called the agreement “historic and very significant for Israel.”“There was a deep infrastructure of formal and informal relations, and the process ripened,” he said. “We all need to praise [US President Donald] Trump, the prime minister and especially [Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi] Mohamed bin Zayed for this brave step.”Ashkenazi added that extending peace offers and maintaining Israel’s existing peace agreements were among the pals he set for himself upon entering office.As for his phone call with his UAE counterpart Ahmed bin Zayed on Sunday, Ashkenazi said the excitement was palpable.“We are both committed to really bring the ties to fruition for the good of the whole region and the residents of Israel and the Emirates,” he stated.Ashkenazi said he spoke to other foreign ministers of Arab countries and expressed hope they would also formalize their relations with Israel.“I see a great importance in the change in the discourse in the region and with our allies,” he said.
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