"Israel" to give US secret weapons wishlist for use against Iran, Lebanon
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The list is "highly classified" and includes weapons the Israeli occupation "predicts would be needed" if it were to wage a war on Iran or Lebanon.
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Retaliatory rockets launched toward occupied territories from the Gaza Strip
US-based Breaking Defense military news outlet reported on Friday that Israeli military sources disclosed it has a list of weapons it plans to urge the US to add to its American emergency stockpile in "Israel" as a safeguard for possible future wars in the region.
Sources say the list of aircraft and bombs is required to take action against Iranian nuclear sites or to counter possible attacks from Hezbollah rockets from Lebanon.
According to a US Congressional Research Service report, the War Reserves Stock Allies stockpile, established in the 1980s, allows the US to "stockpile arms and equipment at Israeli bases for American use in wartime," and has included missiles, armored vehicles, and artillery ammunition. Later, the US changed the conditions for the stockpile, granting "Israel" immediate access "in emergency scenarios" and allowing weapons to be transferred through considerably expedited Foreign Military Sales procedures.
In the 2020 CRS report, an Israeli commander is cited as saying, "Officially, all this equipment belongs to the US military," unless there is a conflict, then the Israeli occupation forces "can ask permission to use some of the equipment."
According to CRS, this has happened at least twice: once during the Israeli regime's massive military aggression against Lebanon in 2006 (July 2006 war), and again during the regime's brutal military onslaught against Hamas, in the besieged Gaza Strip in 2014. In both cases, Israeli soldiers sustained significant losses, pushing the country to reach ceasefire agreements through intermediaries.
According to the report, the US also simulated a stockpile weapons transfer for bilateral war drills with Israeli government troops in 2019.
A senior Israeli military source emphasized the benefits of boosting US weaponry stockpiles in occupied Palestine, saying, “First, since the weapons are owned by the US, they don’t affect Israel’s military budget until they’re needed. Second, while Israel does foot the bill for the systems’ maintenance, they’re stored in US-controlled areas” of Israeli military sites.
According to the report, munitions stockpiles remain a major concern for Israeli military planners after the regime depleted the majority of its Iron Dome stockpile last year in order to deter retaliatory rocket strikes from Gaza. Congress is expected to authorize $1 billion in American taxpayer funds to subsidize Israeli efforts to replenish its supply of the Iron Dome missile system.
Last October, the news outlet reported on Israeli plans to request the purchase of its new 2.3-ton GBU-72 bunker-buster bombs from the US for what it claimed were potential operations against tunnel systems in Gaza as well as "fortified Iranian nuclear sites" – a claim widely regarded as a publicity stunt.
Although the US has been a major sponsor of "Israel's" occupation, the decision to increase the US stockpile is up to the White House, which would weigh the policy implications, and Congress, which sets the legal maximum for the value of weapons maintained there. Capitol Hill's ongoing dispute over direct Iron Dome financing, not to mention its fundamental dysfunction, means the future of the US stockpile may remain uncertain.
