Is Israel Too Dependent on the U.S.?

The Biden administration’s decision to cut off weapons supplies to Israel during the war in Gaza has raised concerns that the Jewish state is overly dependent on the United States for its security. Washington has supplied Israel with more than 10,000 tons of munitions since October 7, 2023, when Hamas murdered more than 1,200 Israelis. However, the White House has threatened to suspend further arms transfers to restrain the Israeli military by conditioning how American armaments can be used against Hamas and Hezbollah, the Iranian- backed terrorist proxy in Lebanon.

For months the Biden administration warned Israel against launching a ground offensive in Rafah, a densely populated southern Gaza city, over concerns about potential civilian casualties. After it became clear Israel would defy the White House and invade Rafah, Hamas’s last stronghold, the Biden administration stopped a shipment to Israel of 3,500 urgently needed gravity bombs and limited the supply of other weapons Israel had already purchased and paid for.

Some analysts say the administration is worried Israel’s decimation of Hamas will endanger the establishment of an independent State of Palestine alongside Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists Israel will not permit Hamas or the Palestinian Authority to rule Gaza. The United States, however, has stressed that the war in Gaza must end with a pathway to Palestinian independence.

U.S. President Joe Biden’s threats have been met with a mix of outrage, defiance, and resignation. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich accused the White House of implementing an “arms embargo” and vowed that Israel will “achieve complete victory in this war despite President Biden’s pushback.” Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Israel Katz agreed. “Israel will continue to fight Hamas until its destruction,” he said. “There is no war more just than this.”

Netanyahu urged caution. “There are countries we have to take into account,” he warned. “If we don’t do that, eventually there will be a UN decision to impose a blockade on us. The whole world will be against us.”

The United States historically has been a strong supporter of Israel. Since Israel declared independence in 1948, it has been the largest cumulative recipient of U.S. foreign aid, receiving about $310 billion (adjusted for inflation) in total economic and military assistance, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. Since October 7, the United States has provided more than $20 billion in additional support.

This assistance has been invaluable for Israel, but the emerging cracks in the bilateral relationship reflect significant generational and demographic changes in American society. Polls show that young Americans do not support Israel like the previous generations did. As a result, unquestioningly pro-Israel U.S. policies can no longer be taken for granted.

Netanyahu expressed gratitude for the American support but said it was “inconceivable that in the past few months, the administration has been withholding weapons and ammunitions to Israel.” He stressed it is time for Israel to reduce its dependency on imported military equipment. “Israel is preparing the defense industries to disconnect from dependency on the rest of the world,” he said. “We’ll need to equip locally, with a local manufacturing capability.

“If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone.”

Soeren Kern is a Writing Fellow for the Middle East Forum.