Israel said on Friday it will not oppose U.S. sales of "specific weapons systems" to the United Arab Emirates, in an apparent reference to the F-35 warplanes sought by Abu Dhabi.
Under a principle of preserving Israel's "qualitative military edge", the United States consults with it on proposed sales of advanced arms to other countries in the region.
Israel has reiterated a need to maintain its military superiority even since forging official ties with the UAE and its fellow Gulf Arab state Bahrain under deals brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump last month. Washington agreed to consider allowing the UAE to buy F-35 stealth jets in a side deal to a normalization agreement between Israel and the UAE