The U.S. and Israel are in a rare tiff over a blocked jet deal with Croatia

Benjamin Netanyah.
(Image credit: JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovič says the U.S. is standing in the way of a $500 million F-16 fighter jet deal between Croatia and Israel, Axios reported Friday.

The deal, which was announced by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last March, would involve Israel selling Croatia 12 refurbished U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets. The U.S. never gave Israel permission to sell the jets, per Axios, and Washington began alerting Israeli officials three weeks ago that they would block the deal.

Israel upgraded the jets with their own technology as a selling point for the Croatians to buy from them rather than directly from the U.S., which angered the Americans, according to Israeli officials. The U.S. claims Israel was never supposed to sell the jets without receiving American approval first, and has accused Israel of trying to profit off U.S. equipment and the thus-far strong relationship between Netanyahu and the Trump administration.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Plenkovič remains optimistic the deal will pass, so long as Israel and the U.S. come to an agreement. He says it's up to Israel to settle the dispute and move the jet deal forward.

"We are not in a particularly burdensome situation, everything that has been done on our part was correct," Plenkovič said in a statement. "I do not believe that there is a possibility that the deal will not be approved eventually." The U.S., on the other hand, wanted to score the lucrative sale to Croatia and is frustrated that Israel got in the way. Read more at Axios.

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Marianne Dodson

Marianne is The Week’s Social Media Editor. She is a native Tennessean and recent graduate of Ohio University, where she studied journalism and political science. Marianne has previously written for The Daily Beast, The Crime Report, and The Moroccan Times.