Can Israel Break Its Dependency on the U.S.?

A report by The Washington Post reveals that Israel is investing millions of dollars in producing more heavy bombs domestically, driven by a growing fear of reliance on weapons imports from the United States and other Western countries, despite the steady flow of arms from these nations.

Foreign affairs correspondent Adam Taylor cites experts who argue that Israel would find it difficult to abandon its dependence on its key ally, the United States, especially with President-elect Donald Trump returning to power.

A Step Toward Self-Reliance

In a significant move reflecting its ambitions, Israel’s Ministry of Defense announced last week that it had signed $275 million worth of deals to manufacture heavy bombs and military-grade raw materials locally. This development marks a notable expansion of Israel’s weapons industry, according to the report.

The Washington Post disclosed that Elbit Systems, one of Israel’s three largest weapons manufacturers—alongside Israel Aerospace Industries and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems—has been selected to produce heavy bombs locally.

During the signing ceremony on Tuesday, Eyal Zamir, Director-General of the Ministry of Defense, described this decision as a “harsh lesson Israel learned” from its wars in Gaza and Lebanon. He emphasized that the Israeli military would “continue to work diligently across all operational theaters.”

The report also highlighted Israel’s use of heavy bombs supplied by U.S. companies like Boeing during its recent operations in Gaza, where large parts of the territory’s infrastructure and buildings were reduced to rubble.

Dependency Highlighted in Gaza Conflict

Efraim Inbar, head of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, pointed out that Israel’s reliance on U.S. weapons was evident during its recent war in Gaza. He attributed this dependency to “progressive elements within the Democratic Party” criticizing Israel’s use of these arms.

For years, Israel avoided producing certain munitions domestically, prioritizing cost-effectiveness. “It’s cheaper to buy these weapons using funds allocated by the U.S.,” Inbar explained.

According to the report, total U.S. security assistance to Israel has exceeded $200 billion since the end of World War II.

Challenges to Domestic Production

Some analysts doubt Israel’s ability to rapidly scale up its domestic production capabilities for essential military supplies. Seth Binder, an expert at the Center for Democracy in the Middle East, noted that building production capacity requires significant time and investment. “Even the United States has struggled to scale up its production of globally demanded munitions,” he said.

Despite its efforts, Israel will likely continue to depend on foreign imports for key military assets, such as F-35 fighter jets from the U.S. and submarines from Germany.

Trump’s Influence

Taylor argued in his report that the U.S.’s provision of weapons and funds to Israel gives Trump significant leverage to push for a ceasefire deal in Gaza. However, some officials from Trump’s previous administration consider such a move unlikely.

Jason Greenblatt, Trump’s former special envoy to the Middle East, doubted that the president-elect would use weapons shipments as leverage. Greenblatt said, “Trump understands that peace agreements can only be built on recognizing reality, and the reality is that terrorists and armed groups will always exist, and conflict will continue.”

William Hartung, an expert on arms trade at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, suggested that Trump might not support Israel’s push for increased domestic arms production. If the U.S. ends up footing the bill, this could conflict with Trump’s “America First” narrative.

Hartung added, “Trump likes to portray himself as the ultimate dealmaker. During his first term, he frequently emphasized how U.S. arms sales supported American jobs.” Allowing Israel to use U.S. aid to boost its domestic arms production instead of purchasing American-made weapons would run counter to this approach, he argued.