Netanyahu: Israel investing over $100B in bid for independent arms industry

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that because of lessons learned during its fighting over the past two years, Israel is working to gain as much independence as possible in its weapons production, The Daily Baku reports, citing The Times of Israel.

"I approved, along with the defense minister and finance minister, a sum of NIS 350 billion [$108 billion] over the next decade to build an independent Israeli munitions industry," Netanyahu says in a speech at a graduation ceremony for Israel Air Force pilots.

"We want to reduce our dependence on all players, including friends," he says, after allies including the US, UK, and Germany all imposed various restrictions on weapons sales to Israel since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack. Still, many countries around the world, including Germany, "want to buy from us more and more systems," he says.