Ashkenazi Warns That “Israeli” Army is Heading for Bankruptcy: No Tanks, No Hummer Vehicles, No Money 

By Staff

“Israeli” Military analyst Avi Ashkenazi has once again highlighted the budget crisis engulfing the “Israeli” occupation military, which he said is on the path to bankruptcy. 

He revealed that hundreds of Hummer military vehicles were destroyed or damaged during the war with Hezbollah.

Writing in the Hebrew-language newspaper “Maariv”, Ashkenazi said: “Because of the policies of the Finance Ministry and the [government], the ‘Israeli’ military and the security establishment are raising a red flag this morning.”

He further added: “The ‘Israeli’ military has decided to deactivate a number of tank battalions after failing to secure a budget to purchase spare parts. Military officials say that hundreds of Hummer vehicles were damaged in the war in Lebanon, and there is no budget to purchase replacements. The result: troops can’t be transported in combat zones.”

According to Ashkenazi, the Intelligence Directorate of the “Israeli” military has run out of storage capacity in its cloud-based file storage. As a result, the military has begun deleting files to make room for new ones, and in some cases has opted not to save new files, including new satellite imagery.

In parallel, he mentioned that “The ‘Israeli’ military and the security establishment are warning that ‘Elbit’ Systems will actually be forced, within the coming days, to shut down its production line for shells for the ‘Israeli’ military’s Merkava tanks.”

“Next month, the artillery-shell production line will be shut down, and in November the mortar-shell production line will also be shut down. The ‘Israeli’ military is on the threshold of a real crisis, on the eve of entering a dramatic month in terms of preparedness and the possibility of resuming fighting with Iran or on other fronts,” the military analyst cautioned.

Ashkenazi also noted that, amid the dispute between the Finance Ministry and the War Ministry, the prime minister decided that the Finance Ministry would transfer “NIS 40 billion” to the military’s operating budget, beginning in August, with an initial payment of “NIS 15” billion. However, the Finance Ministry has not transferred the funds.

He said: “The military industries have opened lines of credit for the army, but the companies have fallen into a negative cash-flow crisis, forcing them to halt the development of many projects, such as interceptor missiles and systems for dealing with the threat posed by drones, among others.”

He also quoted a military official as saying: “I won’t speak on their behalf, but we owe the military industries more than ‘NIS 15’ billion. It is clear to me that amounts of this magnitude, given these gaps, create problems for them. It is clear to me that this places a burden on them, and it places an equal burden on us.” 

The official went on to say: “We currently do not know how to maintain the tank-shell production line. The artillery production line is supposed to end in October, and the mortar-shell line in November. These are contracts for maintaining the readiness of the platforms. There are tank battalions that have no spare parts, and we do not know how to refurbish them because the rate of breakdowns exceeds the rate of repairs.”

“Hundreds of Hummer vehicles were destroyed in Lebanon, and we can’t return them to service. The war is draining us considerably. Because of the shortage, we do not have the capacity to transport combat troops.”

The same official further described the scale of the crisis within the “Israeli” occupation and security establishment: “Today, I do not know how to store materials in the Intelligence Directorate. We have to start clearing out and deleting files to make room for storage. In some places, there are communications problems. In many areas, operations simply come to a halt in the middle of the war, and we do not know how to maintain continuity. If the money arrived, we would at least be able to fulfill the orders.”

According to Ashkenazi: “There is deep concern within the ‘Israeli’ military over the situation. A military official said that the original budget stood at ‘NIS 143’ billion. All the developments on the various battlefronts, particularly the ‘Roaring Lion’ war with Iran and the Lebanon front, have caused the military to exceed its budget.”

He added: “Military officials say that the Intelligence Directorate has begun terminating the contracts of dozens of personnel who had been recruited into initial permanent service. But because the military has run out of funds, their contracts were terminated immediately, and those soldiers were released from permanent service.”

A military official summarized the problematic situation facing the “Israeli” military and security establishment by telling the newspaper: “This is very worrying, particularly because the Budget Division of the Finance Ministry is not actually implementing the prime minister’s directives. Had they been operating in accordance with the agreed directives, we would at least be in a position to maintain basic continuity. This situation is constraining us today.”