Israel Conducts Policy Review on Ukraine-Russia Conflict
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said Israel is also targeting Iranian weapons earmarked for Russian troops invading Ukraine, the Jerusalem Post reported.
“Israel … acts in ways that I will not itemize here against Iran’s weapons productions, which are used against Ukraine,” Netanyahu said.
Iran sends both missiles and armed drones to Moscow.
The remarks were made days after an Israeli drone attack against a weapons facility in the Iranian city of Isfahan.
When Netanyahu returned to power last month, his government – said to be the most right-wing in the country’s history – shifted to a more pro-Russian stance.
Though Israel has sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine, it has so far ignored calls by the Ukraine’s leadership to send it weapons.
Asked by CNN this week whether his government would consider providing Ukraine with defensive weapons, Netanyahu said he was “certainly looking into it” – an unprecedented statement.
The volte face is likely connected to increased US pressure to fall in line with its anti-Russian policy. Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, who visited Jerusalem this week, spoke publically about the tension in US-Israeli strategic vision regarding the war in Ukraine.
Israel and Russia have had a complex relationship, especially since the latter’s involvement in the Syrian war. Under Netanyahu’s tenure, both sides came to a modus vivendi whereby Israel would be able to conduct limited air raids against Iran and Iranian-backed groups on Syria territory.
“What we have with Russia is a complex relationship because not very far from here, a few miles from here on our northern border with Syria, Israeli aircraft and Russian aircraft are flying within spitting distance of each other. Russia is militarily in Syria. Iran is trying to implant itself in Syria right next to our northern border. We keep them in check,” Netanyahu said this week.