Israel continues support for Ukraine, NATO and the West

Israel’s Defense Minister has confirmed that Israel remains committed to standing with Ukraine, NATO and the West against Russian aggression. However, Israel has refrained from sending arms to Ukraine at this time.

At the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, there was a lot of criticism for Israel not getting involved in the war. At one point Israel was seen as neutral and was involved in negotiating peace between the two countries until communication broke down completely.

Israel has long opposed Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, but it has needed to be diplomatic to protect what is essentially a border with Russian forces.

Right now, Russia has a strong military presence in Syria, a country which sits along Israel’s northern border and has been engulfed by war. Israel is currently trying to stop Iran from establishing itself in that country as the Iranian regime seeks to destroy Israel. As such, Israel has coordinated with Russia to ensure that when Israeli air strikes take place on Iranian targets inside Syria, Russia’s forces are not hit by accident. It is because of this that Israel has been walking a tight diplomatic line in order to avoid a confrontation with Russia.

However, earlier this year it was clear that Russia’s actions in Ukraine were not only illegal but also immoral and as a result, Israel spoke out against Russia, condemned them at the United Nations, and began to send medical aid and resources to the embattled nation.

This week, Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz has come out saying that Israel’s support for Ukraine, NATO and the West continues.

“Our policy vis-à-vis Ukraine will not change—we will continue to support and stand with the West, we will not provide weapon systems,” Gantz said.

Gantz was clarifying that at the moment Israel will not be arming Ukraine, a move that Russia has threatened it would interpret as an “act of war”, and could hinder security cooperation for Israel’s northern border.

Despite not offering weapons to fight Russia, Israel is still offering Ukraine humanitarian assistance and defensive capabilities to help save lives in Ukraine.

“We have asked the Ukrainians to share information regarding their needs, and offered to assist in developing a life-saving early-warning system,” Gantz added, likely referring to a version of the IDF Home Front Command’s area-specific Color Red system.

“Israel supports and stands with Ukraine, NATO and the West; this is something we have said in the past and repeat today. Israel has a policy of supporting Ukraine via humanitarian aid and the delivery of life-saving defensive equipment,” said Gantz.

“I plan to review and approve an additional package, as we have delivered in the past. This being said, I would like to emphasize that Israel will not deliver weapon systems to Ukraine due to a variety of operational considerations. We will continue to support Ukraine within our limitations, as we have done in the past,” the defense minister stated.

We need to continue to pray for Israel to have wisdom in this situation.