Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates are holding talks to establish a strategic defense alliance between the countries, i24NEWS reported today (Thursday).
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A senior official source in the United Arab Emirates and a Saudi official close to the royal family told i24NEWS that the alliance between the countries is intended to safeguard security-political interests, similar to the NATO alliance.
An official response has not yet been received from the Prime Minister's Office.
A political source told Israel Hayom: "We do not confirm the news. Israel is working steadily to strengthen ties with the Arab world.".
Earlier today, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with the Crown Prince of the United Arab Emirates, Salman Mohammed Al Khalifa, and the two may have also discussed the establishment of the alliance.
There are commonalities between Israel and the Gulf states that are part of the alliance, in that Israel, like Saudi Arabia and to a lesser extent the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, possesses a large, technologically advanced military force and is in constant conflict with Iranian proxies in the region.
The Saudi army has 75,000 regular soldiers and at least 200,000 reservists. Most of its equipment is made in Western countries, mainly the United States, Britain, and Germany.
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The Saudi army has almost a thousand tanks at its disposal, including more than 400 Abrams tanks. The Saudi army has thousands of American-made armored vehicles and nearly 700 mobile artillery pieces made in the United States and China. The Saudi Air Force has nearly a hundred advanced American F-15 and British Tornado fighter jets.
The UAE has a much smaller land force than Saudi Arabia, but a large air force that has demonstrated impressive capabilities in the past. The UAE has more than 100 French-made Mirage 2000 aircraft and over 60 US-made F-16 aircraft.
