Israel signals it’s prepared to provide Ukraine with military aid
Benjamin Netanyahu and Emmanuel Macron (Photo:REUTERS/Benoit Tessier)
During a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu announced his readiness to provide Ukraine with “military items,” Israeli newspaper The Times of Israel reported on Feb. 3, citing an official familiar with the negotiations.
According to the report, the head of the Israeli government added that “he could not go too far without provoking Russia.”
Netanyahu’s office declined to comment.
In a briefing with journalists, Netanyahu would say only that “I explained our policies. (Macron) knows the issue well.” He also did not speak about Foreign Minister Eli Cohen’s upcoming trip to Kyiv.
On the subject of mediation between Ukraine and Russia, Netanyahu told Macron that it was “too early to think about that,” and explained that he would not insist on taking part in it until both countries, as well as the United States, asked him to do so, the newspaper reported.
He also stated that he is ready to consider the possibility of providing Kyiv with military assistance — in particular, the supply of the Iron Dome anti-missile defense system. The PM confirmed that at the request of the United States, Israel handed over 250,000 items of U.S.-made ammunition to Ukraine.
Officially, Israel condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, provides humanitarian aid – but not weapons.
The New York Times previously wrote that Jerusalem is secretly helping Kyiv with intelligence, in particular when it comes to countering Iranian kamikaze drones used by Moscow.
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