Benjamin Netanyahu's recent declaration that Israel must eventually free itself from dependence on American military aid sounded, at first glance, like an assertion of national self-confidence. Nations, after all, prefer autonomy to dependence. Great powers do not enjoy admitting that their security rests in another country's hands.

But there is a difference between aspiration and reality.

The reality is that modern Israel, as a military and diplomatic power, is inconceivable without the United States. This is not a moral judgement or a political slogan. It is a strategic fact.

For decades, Israel has cultivated an image of self-reliance. The story of a tiny nation surrounded by hostile neighbours, defending itself through ingenuity and determination, has become part of modern political mythology. There is truth in that narrative. Israel possesses one of the world's most sophisticated intelligence services, a formidable defence industry, and a military that has repeatedly demonstrated operational excellence.

Yet military capability is not the same as strategic independence. Strip away American support, and the architecture of Israeli power begins to look remarkably fragile.

The numbers tell part of the story. Since the 1970s, the United States has provided Israel with well over $150 billion in assistance, making it one of the largest recipients of American foreign aid in history. Today, Washington supplies approximately $3.8 billion annually in military assistance, not including supplemental packages that have surged since the Hamas attacks of October 2023.

Wars are not won........

© The Nation