US President Donald Trump is apparently prepared to sell state-of-the-art F-35 fighter planes to the United Arab Emirates.

Until now, Israel had opposed the sale of such military equipment to Arab countries. Tonight Israel will sign a peace deal in Washington with the Emirates and with the other Gulf state of Bahrain.

The F-35 – once called Joint Strike Fighter – is one of the creams of the crop in modern military aviation and manufacturer America does not sell it to anyone, only to reliable allies. Israel has also commissioned such aircraft.

To maintain that military supremacy in the air, Israel had until now always opposed the sale of such sophisticated weaponry to Arab states, including to far-flung Gulf states such as the Emirates.

In recent weeks, Israel and two Gulf states, the Emirates and Bahrain, have announced that they will make peace, and those agreements were to be solemnly signed tonight at the White House in Washington.

In the run-up to that, US President Donald Trump has just said on Fox News that “he has no problem selling F-35s to the Emirates”.

He is also willing to sell other countries in the Middle East the same weapon systems as to Israel. Trump pointed to the wealth in the region, saying those sales are suitable for the US and for American jobs.