A new report from the “Israel Hayom” newspaper says that ammunition in scattered emergency warehouses that the United States has been keeping in Israel for many years is being significantly reduced and for now it is not known when the stock will be replenished.
As was published at the beginning of the year, some of the ammunition that had been kept in Israel for years was transferred to Ukraine to help it in the war against the Russians, based on direct orders from the White House. Officially, these are weapons depots of the American army which are intended for its use and are even recognized as compounds with American diplomatic immunity.
#Russia #Ukraine #Israel “IsraelHayom' (#IsraelToday): “The #USA has taken large quantities of ammunition from its emergency storage facilities in Israel and transferred them to Ukraine. US warehouses in Israel contain armaments and ammunition that Israel could use in case of war pic.twitter.com/OdK9ZSQ0xl
— Donato Yaakov Secchi (@doyaksec) April 27, 2023
However, there was a mutual understanding between the countries all these years according to which the placement of the warehouses in Israel was intended to help it if it was caught in a dire emergency, such as the combined attack of the Arab armies during the Yom Kippur War of 1973. The US also kept ammunition in Israel for the use of US troops all throughout the Middle East.
According to several sources, part of the contents of the warehouses was taken out of the country during the last months through the Ashdod port. The deliveries were made mainly on Saturday evenings in order to reduce as much as possible the attention of passers-by regarding their existence.
Report: American emergency ammunition depots in Israel are beginning to run low, and it is unknown when they will be replenished.
— Israel National News - Arutz Sheva (@ArutzSheva_En) April 27, 2023
According to a report by Israel Hayom, part of the ammunition that the US stored in Israel was sent to #Ukraine to aid its war efforts against Russia. pic.twitter.com/czvitcfg2S
The removal of ammunition, which began already during the term of the Bennet-Lapid government in Israel at the beginning of the Biden administration, continued until the very last weeks. Israeli and foreign sources said that the background to the American move is the lack of reserve ammunition in the entire West, against the background of the continuation of the war in Ukraine.
An Israeli anonymous official told reporters that this is a decision by the White House to divert resources from the country to another front. However, against the background of the high-security tensions in recent weeks, the removal of American ammunition from Israel takes on a different meaning. "We are talking about Israel's weapons stockpiles during wartime. The step takes on greater significance in light of the recent threats to Israel in the various arenas."
Correct - US has been digging into its own ammunition stockpiles held at two major locations in the world - South Korea and Israel for 155 mm shells to be sent to Ukraine .
— Swasti Rao ラオ スワスチイ (@swasrao) April 12, 2023
This “lending” by S Korea is to replenish US stockpiles . https://t.co/tHr17Hzu24
Biden administration officials confirmed the shipments of ammunition from Israel and said that at this stage it is not known when the inventory will be renewed. The main sign, which is obvious to all, is that the Biden administration is diverging its attention away from the Middle East and focusing all its efforts on Ukraine’s war against the Russian invaders; all while China continues to fortify its place in the region.
