Gallant will ask Washington for weapons for use in the war on Gaza (Anatolia)
The American website Axios quoted Israeli and American officials as saying that Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant will arrive in Washington with a long list of weapons that Israel wants immediately.
An Israeli official added to the site that Tel Aviv is seeking to speed up the process of supplying aircraft and weapons, amid concern among Israeli officials that the US Department of Defense (the Pentagon) is slowing down the delivery of weapons.
The Israeli official indicated that the weapons that Gallant will request include requests for the war in Gaza, and requests for F-35 and F-15 fighters.
Last Tuesday, a statement from the Office of the Israeli Minister of Defense said that he had received an invitation from his American counterpart, Lloyd Austin, to visit Washington next week in his first official visit since the outbreak of the war on the Gaza Strip.
Gallant is also scheduled to meet with other senior officials in the US administration and Congress, according to the Israeli statement.
In the same regard, the Washington Post quoted American and Israeli officials as saying that the US State Department received the required written assurances from Israel before the deadline on Sunday, that its use of the defense equipment provided by the United States does not violate international humanitarian law or US human rights law.
She said that the Israeli confirmation letter was signed by Defense Minister Gallant.
Since the outbreak of the Israeli war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, Washington has been providing Tel Aviv with the strongest possible military, intelligence, and diplomatic support, even in light of what appear to be disagreements between US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the huge number of civilian casualties. Tel Aviv's restrictions on bringing humanitarian aid into the Strip, as well as the future of Gaza after the war.
Israel fears a "domino effect"
These developments come at a time when the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported, citing government sources, that Israel fears that Canada’s decision to ban arms exports to Israel will affect other countries in what resembles a “domino effect.”
She added that there are indications that friendly countries are changing their policies and are considering delaying or banning the export of weapons to Israel, including Britain.
The newspaper had revealed that Britain threatened Israel with stopping arms exports to it if it did not allow the International Red Cross to visit the prisoners of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) who were arrested by Tel Aviv since the beginning of the war on Gaza.
The newspaper said that Britain - about two weeks ago - sent a team of legal experts to Israel, which concluded that Tel Aviv was acting in violation of international law.
Source: Axios + Al Jazeera