"Next time we ask for an Apache, we'll have to get down on our knees"

Concern is growing in the defense establishment and the IDF that the upcoming elections in Israel and the United States will accelerate a crisis in strategic relations between the two countries. Senior officials warn that a Democratic victory in one house of Congress, alongside the formation of another far-right government in Israel, could advance restrictions on American weapons supplies to the IDF, against the backdrop of the war in Gaza and settler terrorism in the West Bank. A senior defense official familiar with relations between the countries warns that this situation will accelerate sanctions initiatives unlike any we have known and will change everything we have become accustomed to over decades. According to him, the next time Israel requests an Apache, an offensive weapon the IDF needs, it will not end in just a quarrel with the Finance Ministry but in a shuffle between the four corners of Congress. In the background is a deep erosion of bipartisan support to an unprecedented low, as American public opinion grows weary of the government's, IDF's, and police's blind eye to settler terrorism. The American administration is formulating personal response measures against officers and restrictions on IDF and police units. The current aid agreement, signed at the end of former President Barack Obama's term, will expire in September 2028, under which Israel receives $3.8 billion annually. The emerging framework may include a reduced dollar component and focus on cooperation between defense industries. Dr. Shai Har-Zvi, a senior researcher at Reichman University, warns that Israel still does not realize how real the threat is, and he is more concerned about developments in relations with the US than about the Iranian threat. The article notes that between 2021 and 2025, the United States was the supplier of 68% of Israel's major weapons systems.