Minister: Israel must end its dependence on US arms

Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu yesterday called on Tel Aviv to end its dependence on US weapons in a way that allows it to fight for a long time without the need for support from America, considering confrontation with Washington as being inevitable.

Eliyahu, from the Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) Party, made the remarks on 103 FM amid the tense relations between Tel Aviv and Washington due to the war on Gaza.

“I think that there are certainly many things in this government that I do not agree with, and among them is our dependence on the United States, and at the same time I am happy that Israel today is making efforts to maintain the relationship [with Washington].”

“It is important that we all understand that our partnership with the US is something that must be preserved, but we cannot continue with this formula in which as soon as we have a conflict with the US, arms shipments and American support are stopped,” he added.

The Israeli minister went on to say: “We cannot depend on the US providing us with weapons. We need to produce weapons ourselves in a way that allows the State of Israel to fight for a long time without actually needing the American oxygen tank that allows us to fight.”

“Over the past three decades, Israel has consciously – I do not know who made the decision and why – transferred the bulk of our defence production into the hands of the American veto, which led to the reality we live in today, where we depend on American armament, instead of developing our arsenal of weapons,” stated Eliyahu.

The US provides Israel $3.3 billion in aid annually, most of which is military aid, while greater funding has been provided since October 2023 to allow it to continue its bombing campaign in Gaza.

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