Israel reconsidering whether to send weapons to Ukraine: Sources

TEL AVIV — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is reevaluating the question of whether to supply weapons to Ukraine, with sources saying pressure from Washington on Jerusalem has increased in recent weeks.

The visit of US President Joe Biden to Ukraine, as well as the direct calls from Ukrainian President  Volodymyr Zelenskyy for Israel to supply its David’s Sling air defense system to Kyiv, have added to the pressure put on the Israeli government to send some advanced air defense systems to Ukraine.

The review of the Israeli policy is being led by the national security unit in the prime minister’s office, in cooperation with the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Mossad, per sources. While the Netanyahu government began looking at this issue shortly after it was formed, there is no expected timeline for when a decision might come.

Notably, two senior members of the Israeli parliament met with Zelenskyy shortly after Biden’s Monday visit. Yuli Edelstein, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee of the Israeli parliament, and Zeev Elkin, a parliament member from the opposition, said in a joint statement after they met Zelenskyy that “Israel has offered and will continue to provide considerable humanitarian aid to Ukraine, but in our judgment, it is not enough.

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“We support practical cooperation between Israel and Ukraine in the field of air defense and anti-missile defense and in other defensive fields,” the two said in the statement. “We must stop being afraid, and take an active and unequivocal position in accordance with basic moral values, as is expected of any Western country. We must assist Ukraine in all areas where Israeli technologies, including military ones, can help protect the civilian population, its freedom and independence.

“There are moments in world history when you cannot sit on two chairs. we will do everything we can to achieve a significant expansion of Israeli support for Ukraine in all areas.”

The two Israeli politicians also visited a Ukrainian military intelligence laboratory that is inspecting captured Iranian-made drones, which have been used by Russia in the war.

“The production dates that appear on the drones clearly prove that they have been supplied since the beginning of the war, contrary to the Iranian claims,” Edelstein said. “Israel should help Ukraine not only because it is the right and moral thing, but because it is our national and security interest against the Iranian enemy.”

Such statements are notable, as Edelstein is a member of the Likud party headed by Netanyahu and is very close to him. Political sources said that the statement would not have been released without the full approval of Netanyahu.

Netanyahu “used the visit of the two in Ukraine to say ‘we will answer some of your operational requirements for air defense systems,’” one source said

Israel views solid relations with Russia as vital for its ability to strike against Iranian-backed targets in Syria, where Russia controls much of the airspace. Russia has largely allowed Israel a free hand for such strikes in the past, and Jerusalem has sought not to upset that agreement with Moscow.

As a result, Israel, both under Netanyahu and his predecessor Yair Lapid, has avoided sending arms to Ukraine. However, Washington has viewed the growing military ties between Russia and Iran as a wedge it can use to pry Israel fully onto Ukraine’s side. And indeed, Israeli sources point to those ties as the biggest reason for Netanyahu to consider changing his mind, with Iranian-made armed drones becoming the weapon of choice for Russia as it strikes civilian targets, and fears that Iran will receive Russian-made SU-35 fighter aircraft in return.

Another factor Israeli sources point to are reports that inspectors from the UN atomic agency found uranium in Iran last week that was enriched to an unprecedented 84 percent purity, bringing Iran even closer to a weapon-grade level. (Iran has denied that reporting.)

The Ukrainians see two Israeli systems as essential to achieve a turning point in the year-long war — the Rafael-made Iron Dome and David’s Sling. These two systems are designed to intercept short-range rockets and longer-range missiles.

Israeli sources say that these two systems in the hands of the Ukrainians will “change the situation.” Zelenskyy himself made the call for David’s Sling a part of his keynote at the recent Munich Security Conference, saying “there is no alternative but to defeat the Goliath that came to destroy our life. The David is here and is fighting, but we do not yet have the David’s Sling from Israel.”

Giora Eiland, a retired Maj. Gen. and former head of the Israeli National Security Council told Breaking Defense that at this point in time, he would not have recommended sending the systems to Ukraine as such an act will present a great risk for Israel. “The Russians know the capabilities of the Israeli systems and do everything to avoid the sale,” he said.

Notably, Russia condemned a strike over the weekend that was reportedly launched by Israeli forces against Damascus, with Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova calling them a “blatant violation of international law … We strongly urge the Israeli side to stop the armed provocations against the Syrian Arab Republic and to avoid steps that involve dangerous consequences for the entire region.”

“The last warning from Moscow after the attack in Syria is part of this pressure,” Eiland said.

Amos Gilead, another retired general who served in many high-ranking positions in the Israeli Defense Forces, including as head of the Military Intelligence Research Division, was also cautious, saying any decision should be evaluated according to the changing circumstances.

“The Israeli systems that Ukraine wants include technologies that should not fall in the wrong hands. This is a major consideration. At this moment the strategic consideration related to the Israeli freedom to act in Syria is still valid,” he said.