THOUSANDS of Russian-made weapons seized in Lebanon and Gaza may be given to Ukraine under new proposals by Israel.
The plan, which has been gratefully welcomed by Kyiv, will drastically alter Tel Aviv’s neutrality on the conflict, and marks “”a serious step in recognising the common threats faced by both countries.”
In December, Israel confirmed it had seized more than 85,000 weapons as it captured large warehouses during its successful campaign against iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, which included the assassination of militant leaders using booby-trapped pagers.
The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) displayed some 9,000 explosive devices and grenades; 6,840 RPG rockets and anti-tank missiles, 2,700 assault rifles; 2,860 other guns include sniper rifles.
Significantly, the all also included 340 Russian-made Kornets, along with their launchers; 9M131FM (thermobaric) weapons – currently being used by Russia in Ukraine – 9M131M anti tank missiles and 9K32M Strela-2 portable anti-aircraft missile systems.
A ‘massive cache” of Chinese weapons given to Hamas and seized in Gaza would also be handed over.
The deal was first proposed by Israel’s deputy foreign minister Sharren Haskel last year , and was discussed again when she met Ukrainian ambassador Yevhen Korniychuk on Tuesday,
Israel has a long history of accepting Russian jews and relations with Vladimir Putin have grown since he came to power.
Tel Aviv’s neutrality over the Ukrainian war means that it has so far refused to impose sanctions against Moscow.
But the Russian premier’s decision to formalise a military alliance with Israel’ arch nemesis, Iran, just three days before Donald Trump’s inauguration as 47th US president may have irrevocably tipped the scales.
Iran’s Islamic regime is bracing itself for the return of a ‘maximum pressure” policy under PresidentTrump.
The new strategic partnership is understood to include information-sharing to aid the development of
Iran’s nuclear weapons, which Israel has vowed not to allow.
Iran has also supplied Russia with thousands of Shahed drones and short-range ballistic missiles, weapons frequently used in Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian cities.
A bill about the weapons transfer is set to come before Israel Parliament, the Knesset, in the near future.
In their meeting, Ukrainian Ambassador Yevgen Korniychuk thanked Sharren Haskel for having proposed the bill and “expressed hope for a positive resolution”.
