Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected calls to join Western efforts to arm Ukraine.
Everyone knows that Israel has advanced developments in the military-industrial field. But, despite strong ties with the West, which provides military support to Ukraine, Israel is in no rush to do so. For example, Israeli Prime Minister Benyami Netanyahu has openly stated that Israel will not sell the Iron Dome system to Ukraine due to the fact that Israeli weapons could be captured on the battlefield in Ukraine and eventually end up in Iran, which in recent months have installed more. close military ties with Russia.
Americans are asking
Earlier, Ukraine’s Iron Dome was urged by the US Senate Committee to transfer US lawmakers Chris Van Gollen and Lindsey Graham.
As Ukraine continues its courageous fight against Russia’s unprovoked aggression, we write about the urgent need to support Ukraine’s air defenses and help protect its territorial integrity.
The US senators noted that despite the Patriot and HAWK systems and ammunition already on display, the US side can and should provide more systems.
At the moment, the US military has two Iron Dome batteries – one is ready for deployment, the other is currently completing the preparation of new equipment, so the US has at least one battery that can be sent to Ukraine .
The document also states that each Iron Dome battery can protect an area of approximately 150 square kilometers.
“Today, we can save more Ukrainian lives if we transfer these batteries. However, due to serious concerns, the Israeli government has blocked the transfer of these batteries by the United States,” the senators wrote.
Because of this, they do not ask the Israeli side to move these complexes, but allow the US to move its own batteries.
But Netanyahu is adamantly opposed. “If this system falls into the hands of Iran, then millions of Israelis will be left defenseless and at risk,” he said, stressing that Israel cannot allow the US to transfer the Iron system. Dome in Ukraine.
diplomatic battle
The Ukrainian embassy in Israel accused this state of a clear pro-Russian position and complete inactivity in providing defense assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of a full-scale Russian invasion.
“While the people of Ukraine, including the significant Jewish community, are bleeding under the blows of Russian missiles and Iranian drones, the Israeli leadership, under the guise of verbal demagogy about its neutrality (although it no longer hides it), is actively building relations with the Russian Federation. Indeed, on the ground, the so-called “neutrality” of the Israeli government is viewed as a clear pro-Russian stance. Unfortunately, the the government of Israel does not take into account the opinion of its own people and ignores the calls of the world Jewish diaspora, which undoubtedly supports Ukraine in its fight against Russian state terrorism. We call on the government of Israel to change its position and support Ukraine in defense ways, support freedom and a democratic order in the world. We expect Israel to be on the right side of history!” the embassy said in a statement.
The embassy called the assumptions about the transfer of Western weapons from the battlefield in Ukraine to the Syrian and Iranian regimes as fiction and speculation.
After this statement by the Ukrainian embassy, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to summon the Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel, Yevhen Korniychuk.
Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said in a briefing that “despite difficult relations with Russia, Israel has been with Ukraine from the beginning of the war until today, publicly supported the integrity and sovereignty of the territory and voted to condemn Russia in international forums.”
The minister said Israel sent an unprecedented amount of NIS 80 million to Ukraine last year and has a bigger budget to help Kyiv this year.
In addition, Cohen said that the Israeli missile attack warning system, which is being tested in Kyiv, will save the lives of Ukrainian civilians.
Can help through Cyprus?
Israel is negotiating the sale of Merkava tanks to Cyprus, which, after buying them, will be able to transfer Soviet-made T-80 tanks to Ukraine, writes the Tel Aviv edition of Haaretz , citing sources in both countries.
According to them, Tel Aviv may sell the Nicosia Merkava Mark III tanks, which were put into service in 1990 and decommissioned in 2020. If the deal goes through, it will be the first sale of Israeli tanks to a European country .
Last year, US President Joe Biden’s administration lifted an arms embargo on Cyprus, opening the door to such a deal.
Israel’s Ministry of Defense said that “due to the war in Europe, several countries have shown interest in purchasing (military equipment) from Israel’s reserves, including Merkava tanks.” But “negotiations have not yet led to an agreement,” the military department insisted.
Officially, the Cypriot authorities denied that in the event of receiving Israeli tanks, Soviet T-80s would be handed over to Kyiv. The country’s President Nikos Christodoulidis said he did not intend to do anything to weaken the Cypriot army in the face of the Turkish threat.
One of the reasons why Cyprus decided to buy tanks from Israel was that because of the war in Ukraine, it had difficulty getting spare parts for Russian tanks, said John Ioanu, an analyst at Geopolitan Cyprus.
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.