Israel considers sending Iron Dome to Ukraine

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that he has been considering providing military aid to Ukraine, including Israel's Iron Dome air defence system.

Source: Benjamin Netanyahu in a CNN interview, The Kyiv Independent

Quote: "Well, I’m certainly looking into it (the possibility of Israel sending the Iron Dome system to Ukraine - ed.)."

Details: Netanyahu also shared that he would consider mediating between Ukraine and Russia if asked by both states and Washington.

"If asked by all relevant parties, I'll certainly consider it. But I’m not pushing myself in," Netanyahu said. He added that mediation requires, "the right time and the right circumstances."

Ukraine asked Netanyahu's predecessor, Naftali Bennett, to participate as a mediator in negotiations with Russia in March. However, these diplomatic efforts have yielded no results.

Background: 

• Israel has provided humanitarian aid to Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. However, the Israeli government has come under fire for refusing to send weapons to Ukraine.
• In June 2022, Ukraine's ambassador to Israel Yevhen Korniichuk requested the sale of the Iron Dome anti-missile defence system to Ukraine and claimed that the US would not object to this deal. Israel declined this request. 
• Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov insisted that Ukraine needs its own air defence and missile defence system rather than the Iron Dome.
• According to Axios, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi held talks at the end of December concerning the shift in Ukraine's position at the UN regarding UN General Assembly resolution that calls on the International Court of Justice to issue a legal opinion on the consequences of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories in exchange for air defence.
• On 28-29 January, unidentified drones were deployed to attack an Iranian Ministry of Defence facility (Iran and Russia are strategic allies) that specialises in manufacturing ammunition and has reportedly supplied Moscow with combat drones. Western media reported that the attack was organised by Israel. However, the state abstained from any comments regarding the incident.

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