In the ongoing dispute over weapons shipments between the United States and Israel, two possibilities emerge: either Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is lying, or the Americans are being dishonest. After careful examination, the latter seems more likely – the Americans are obscuring the truth.
Multiple shipments of various types of ammunition to Israel have been delayed since February – that is four months. This far exceeds the single weapons shipment President Joe Biden mentioned regarding operations in Rafah.
The delayed shipments include artillery, tank and air combat ammunition – weapons Israel has already paid for – as well as thousands of JDAM kits that convert unguided bombs into precision-guided munitions. Netanyahu, not always known for strict adherence to facts, accurately describes the situation.
His unprecedented move – releasing a video directly criticizing Washington. – became necessary after months of quiet diplomacy failed to resolve the issue, effectively freezing weapons deliveries.
The actual delays stem from State Department officials who are not processing the required export permits for these shipments to Israel.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant's trip to the US will address this issue, which highlights Israel's significant military and diplomatic dependence on America, as revealed during the ongoing war.
The benefits of US support for Israel are clear: $4 billion in annual military aid, continuous ammunition supply during war, and international backing against hostile entities like Iran, Russia and the United Nations. However, the drawbacks are less discussed: Israel's limited freedom to act according to its own judgment, both operationally during the war and diplomatically in its aftermath.
The logical goal is a dramatic increase in domestic production – both in volume and variety – and liberation from contractual restrictions that prevent Israel from independently developing additional weapon types.
While dependence on the US won't disappear overnight, efforts to reduce it should have begun yesterday. Israel has already taken some steps to increase its future autonomy.
Some may ridicule this ambition as unrealistic, but it's not far-fetched. Similar skepticism surrounded the gradual phasing out of US civilian aid to Israel, which no longer exists today.
Reducing military aid will take years, but it's the right path. Simultaneously, Israel must break the "siege" on weapons supply by approaching countries it wouldn't normally consider, as it did during its first War of Independence.
