'Israel' to consider military aid to Kiev, mediation role

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
1 Feb 09:10
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Netanyahu confirmed to CNN that the US has transferred stockpiles of munitions stationed in "Israel" to Ukraine.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in occupied Al-Quds, 3 January 2023. (Reuters)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that he was considering providing Kiev with military support and that he was open to mediating between Russia and Ukraine.

The Israeli occupation has previously condemned the war in Ukraine in a UN resolution on April 2022, but never made any firm commitments to aid Kiev militarily.

It avoided doing so because it did not want to compromise diplomatic relations with Moscow which are already at an all-time low.

During an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Netanyahu said that he was considering providing assistance to Ukraine, which included supplying Kiev with the US-made Iron Dome technology.

"Well, I'm certainly looking into it," Netanyahu said, despite it being ineffective against Russian missiles, according to Ukraine's Defense Minister.

Netanyahu further validated statements that the US has transferred stockpiles of artillery stationed in "Israel" to Ukraine.

"The US just took a huge chunk of 'Israel's' munitions and passed it on to Ukraine," he said, adding that "'Israel' also, frankly, acts in ways that I will not itemize here against Iran's weapons productions which are used against Ukraine," although there is still no evidence to back such claims.

Mediation role

The Israeli Prime Minister said that he was "unofficially" requested to mediate in the Ukrainian-Russian conflict in February last year, but decided to brush it off as he was then part of the opposition.

He told CNN he is now willing to mediate if asked by all parties involved to do so, including the US.

"I've been around long enough to know that there has to be a right time and the right circumstances. If they arise, I'll certainly consider it," he said, noting the Ukrainian conflict was of "monumental importance."

This comes two days after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken paid a visit to "Israel" to increase support for Ukraine and to discuss other issues related to Iran.

Blinken also called for "urgent steps" to "de-escalate" the situation in occupied Palestine, failing to mention the most recent Israeli massacre in Jenin last week that resulted in the martyrdom of 10 Palestinians.

A report published by the Wall Street Journal on January 29 revealed that the US did "Israel" a favor by stalling the JCPOA agreement with Iran, and it is now expecting the occupation to return that favor by supporting Ukraine against Russia.