Peace at the Price of Air Superiority? Israel Must Redefine Its Red Lines with Washington and Riyadh

Trump’s trillion-dollar deal with Saudi Arabia revives the debate over F-35 sales to the Kingdom — and forces Israel to decide what it must demand to preserve its qualitative edge.

The recent revelations about a sweeping, trillion-dollar US–Saudi economic-security package — reportedly intertwined with a future normalization deal with Israel — have jolted the region back into geopolitical high gear. But beneath the celebratory headlines about a “historic peace,” one question overshadows all others: Should Israel accept a Saudi entry into the F-35 club, and if so, under what conditions?

Because unless Israel sets firm boundaries now, it may discover too late that the real price of normalization was not political — but strategic, aerial, and irreversible.

American–Saudi cooperation is nothing new, but the scale of the emerging deal — a comprehensive package linking advanced defense systems, energy, investment, and........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)