The United Arab Emirates canceled a trilateral meeting with Israel and the US, over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s opposition to a Washington sale of F-35 advanced jets to the Gulf country, according to the Walla news site.
The New York meeting of the three countries’ UN envoys on Friday was meant to celebrate the normalization of Israel-UAE ties, the report says.
But then Netanyahu spoke out against a US sale of advanced weaponry to UAE, which Israel fears will compromise its military edge in the region.
The UAE officials decided to send a message to Netanyahu and convey their “disappointment” by canceling their participation, the report says.
The Gulf state will also hold off on other high-level meetings with Israel until Netanyahu’s position is clarified, it adds.
The prime minister has denied a prospective F-35 sale was part of the normalization agreement, but top US officials have conceded that they are in talks with Abu Dhabi on the arms deal.
The Walla report cites three sources familiar with the incident.
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