Israel Denounces Trump’s ‘Troubling’ $110B Saudi Arms Deal
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An Israeli minister denounced a major arms deal between the United States and Saudi Arabia — but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held off on criicizing the $110B pact.
“This is a matter that really should trouble us,” said Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz prior to a weekly cabinet meeting, although Netanyahu made no mention of the deal in his customary public remarks.
Netanyahu has voiced his wish to improve ties with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states as part of an initiative that would draw the Palestinians into an eventual peace deal and as a broad front against Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Israel has always been wary of maintaining its military edge and Steinitz said he hoped to hear details of the deal. Trump and his entourage touch down in Israel on Monday.
“We have also to make sure that those hundreds of billions of dollars of weapons to Saudi Arabia will not, by any means, erode Israel’s qualitative edge, because Saudi Arabia is still a hostile country without any diplomatic relations and nobody knows what the future will be,” he said.
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