Israeli Finance Minister Contests Purchase of F-35 Stealth Fighter Jets

Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz has thrown a spoke in the wheel of Israel's planned purchase of 20 American F-35 Stealth aircraft at a cost of $2.7 billion: At Sunday's cabinet meeting, he got Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to promise that acquisition of the planes will be considered by a forum of senior ministers - either the security cabinet, the "septet" of top ministers or some other group.The finance minister said consideration also had to be given to Washington's opposition to the installation of Israeli systems and missiles on the plane. This American dictate would bar the plane from being outfitted with radar built by Israel Aerospace Industries' Elta division or missiles produced by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.

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