Purchase terms of second group of American fighter jets for Israel finalized with US

Diplomatic tensions aside, Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon and United States Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel have finalized the terms of an Israeli purchase of a second group of F-35 American fighter jets, the Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post reported on Tuesday.

According to the Israeli radio, the purchase deal was finalized during a visit by Ya’alon to Washington earlier this month.

Jerusalem Post said that Israel signed a $2.75 billion deal to purchase a squadron of 19 F-35s from Lockheed Martin in 2012, and is expected to order another 75 jets.

The trip to Washington was otherwise fraught with tensions. After requesting meetings with Joe Biden, the US vice-president, John Kerry, the secretary of state, and Susan Rice, the national security adviser, all three cited “scheduling difficulties” in declining to see Mr Ya’alon.