Western countries are slowing deliveries of ammunition to Israel in what amounts to an informal arms embargo, according to media reports.
The Biden administration has agreed to resume shipments of 500-pound precision bombs to Israel, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. But it is continuing to withhold 2,000-pound bombs, and several other countries are reportedly withholding “simple” ammunition.
The Israeli newspaper HaCalcalist (“The Economist”) reported Tuesday (via Google Translate):
Calcalist has learned that arms suppliers from European countries … simply stopped answering their Israeli counterparts, and also that a foreign power other than the US, which used to trade with Israel, has since October 7 refused to supply Israel with raw materials from which ammunition can be manufactured.
…Despite the requested attempt to strengthen local industry and thus reduce dependence on the world, those who believe that Israel will be able to produce all the ammunition it needs for itself are likely to be deluded. First of all, even in the case of a massive increase in Israeli production capacity, a significant portion of the ammunition is still expected to come from foreign countries in any scenario due to limited production potential. Even the United States is having trouble these days supplying itself and its allies, including Israel and Ukraine, with all the shells they need. Secondly, in order for the Israeli defense industries to be able to produce weapons materials in large quantities, a large quantity of raw materials from which bombs can be made is needed and cannot be to be mined in Israel, therefore these must also eventually come from foreign countries.
…Since the outbreak of the war, more and more reports have been received about countries and companies wishing to reduce or limit defense trade with Israel. Among other things, a problem was reported in the supply of F-35 spare parts with Dutch suppliers; the governments of Italy, Canada and Belgium announced the cessation of defense exports to Israel (despite reports of shipments continuing to arrive and deals continuing to be signed); and the Spanish government even prevented a ship carrying a shipment of weapons from India to Israel from docking on the country’s shores.
At the same time, the report says, Serbia has helped supply Israel with ammunition, and “another country” has begun selling Israel the raw materials necessary for manufacturing weapons.
Still, the shortage of ammunition is so worrying to Israeli defense officials that some tanks in Gaza are not being fully loaded with shells, due to a desire to conserve resources for a possible war in Lebanon, according to a report in the New York Times earlier this month.
Israeli government spokesman David Mencer, asked about the reports of an informal arms embargo, said Wednesday that he could not confirm them. But rumors of arms shortages have been circulating in Israel for several months.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of “”The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of “The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
