An Obama administration decision to delay weapons shipments to Israel is fueling concerns that the U.S. is leveraging armaments to force the establishment of a Palestinian Authority state, according to The Bulletin. It is believed that this may have had a role in the Israeli Defense Ministry's decision to resume developing and producing indigenous munitions in an effort to end its dependence on U.S. weapons.
According to Middle East Newsline, the need for indigenous munitions production was a key lesson from the 2006 war with Hezbollah, when Israel quickly exhausted its supply of U.S.-made air-dropped munitions. “We have to end our exclusive dependency on the United States in the area of air bombs,” an official said. The Israeli military used a range of indigenous munitions during the 22-day war with Hamas in January. The state-owned Israel Military Industries (IMI) and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems produced most of these munitions.