Israel model for Ukraine – Biden goes on the offensive before NATO top Chamber President informs Dutch king after Rutte’s withdrawal

The annual NATO summit will be held in Lithuania’s capital Vilnius on July 11-12 as the Ukrainian counter-offensive is underway. At the center are the controversial supply of cluster munitions and Ukraine’s position in the security alliance.

Ukraine demands a security guarantee as long as entry is refused. Joe Biden has already proposed an interim solution: an Israel model that is intended to ensure the country’s sovereignty in the long term.

It is not the only topic already discussed before the summit:

Israel model

According to President Biden, the US is ready to offer Ukraine the same protection as Israel – but only after a peace deal or ceasefire.

The United States supports Israel with some $3.8 billion a year, a significant portion of which goes to defense against missiles and military technology. About $121 billion has flowed since 1948. No country has received more support from the superpower since World War II.

President John F. Kennedy’s remark to Israeli Foreign Minister Golda Meir in 1962 changed little:

The model is no guarantee of security in the event of an attack, but financial military aid has helped the Middle East’s only democracy build one of the world’s leading defense armies.

On top of that. Last year, the US Congress approved billions in additional funding for the Iron Dome missile defense system, which the US helped develop and has been in use since 2011. The “iron dome” is also a symbol of the United States’ role as Israel’s protective power. For example, the defense system destroys short-range missiles in the air.

joining NATO

NATO membership is still a long way off. “I don’t think there is agreement within NATO about whether Ukraine should join now, in the middle of the war,” Joe Biden told CNN. The process takes time.

Meanwhile, the US could supply weapons to Ukraine to defend itself. You are by far Ukraine’s biggest supporter. To date, the US has provided approximately $71 billion in military, financial and humanitarian aid.

Biden continues that a rational way must now be found for Ukraine to qualify for possible accession. Ukraine is not ready for this yet. The country must first implement the reforms, including democratization and “some of these issues”.

Pros and cons of the Israel model

After Biden’s announcement, the question arises of how sensible a security promise à la Israel is. After all, Israel’s neighbors are not great powers and none of them have nuclear weapons, but Israel does. And: even the Israeli model could not prevent attacks.

Still, an Israeli security model could be “one of the best of the bad options” to ensure Ukraine’s security, US media report. A promise can already be a deterrent.

Claudia Major, an expert on international security at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin, doesn’t think it’s a good idea to let Ukraine down on the NATO issue. “This could be an incentive for Russia to prolong the war – a virtual battlefield veto,” she told SRF. Biden’s idea is a good solution in principle, but it needs careful review.

According to Peter Douglas Feaver, American political scientist and theorist, in the journal Foreign Policy, the optimal security deal for Ukraine after a ceasefire would be NATO membership. Putin draws clear boundaries between the former parts of the Soviet Union that belong to the NATO alliance: While Putin violates the sovereignty of countries such as Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, he keeps his distance from the Baltic States.

In addition to Turkey, the Baltic states, France and Poland are also clearly in favor of Ukraine’s accession.

Erdogan’s role as mediator

An unexpected announcement for the summit came from Turkey: the only NATO country to back away from sanctions favors post-war membership: “There is no doubt that Ukraine deserves NATO membership,” said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The statement surprised, as Erdogan is taking sides for the first time – and at the same time imposing himself as a mediator. Although he condemned the war, he did not participate in the NATO sanctions package. The reason: Erdogan wants to keep communication channels with Moscow and Kiev open. In August, Putin will visit him in Turkey for the first time since the start of the war in Ukraine – as long as he does not call off the meeting now.

With material from the SDA news agency.