U.S. Army documents reveal $2 billion plan to build Israeli tank plant amid Gaza war
By isabelle // 2026-01-13
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  • The U.S. plans to fund a new Israeli armored vehicle plant with up to $2 billion, according to reports.
  • This project aims to boost production of tanks used in the Gaza and Lebanon conflicts.
  • The funding is separate from and in addition to annual U.S. military aid to Israel.
  • This move contradicts U.S. public calls for Israeli restraint in the war.
  • Critics argue it makes the U.S. a direct participant in the conflict.
American taxpayers are on the verge of bankrolling a massive expansion of Israel’s armored vehicle production, directly fueling the very machines used in a war that has drawn global condemnation and accusations of genocide. Internal U.S. Army documents reveal plans to finance a new Israeli tank plant with up to $2 billion, a move that would pour gasoline on the fire of a brutal conflict and dramatically contradict Washington’s occasional rhetoric urging restraint. According to reports from Haaretz, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is deeply involved in the “planning, design and construction” of a “Joint Systems Manufacturing Center” in Israel. This facility is the heart of Israel’s “Armored Vehicle Acceleration Project,” approved by the Israeli government last August as it fought wars in Gaza and Lebanon. The goal is to dramatically boost production of Merkava tanks and armored personnel carriers like the Namer and Eitan.

Funding a war machine

This potential $2 billion infusion is separate from the existing $3.8 billion in annual U.S. military aid to Israel and comes on top of an additional $21.7 billion in direct military assistance sent since October 2023. It represents a conscious decision to invest in the long-term infrastructure of Israel’s ground forces as they operate in densely populated civilian areas. These are the same tanks that, according to a UNIFIL statement from January 12, fired shells near peacekeepers in Lebanon and tracked them with lasers. An independent UN inquiry has concluded Israel is committing genocide, a charge Israel denies. Yet, while the European Union proposes trade sanctions, the U.S. appears ready to double down on its financial and military partnership. The U.S. Army, in a response to Haaretz, stated it “does not currently have a formal JSMC program with Israel.” However, the detailed presentations from the Army Corps of Engineers tell a different story, explicitly listing the project’s cost as $1-2 billion to be financed from U.S. military aid funds. This bureaucratic language cannot mask the brutal reality: the U.S. is actively working to build the factory that will produce the next generation of vehicles for urban warfare and occupation.

Rhetoric vs. reality

The timing is particularly striking. Just this past weekend, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told The Economist he supports scaling back U.S. security assistance to Israel, intending to end it within a decade. Yet his government is simultaneously pursuing this massive American-financed expansion of military production capacity. The disconnect between Netanyahu's public statements about reducing dependence and his government's actions seeking billions for new weapons infrastructure reveals the emptiness of such rhetoric. The moral contradiction is staggering. American leaders voice concern over civilian casualties while writing checks to expand the production of the very armor used in assaults that kill those civilians. This policy makes the U.S. a direct participant in the conflict, undermining any claim to being an honest broker for peace. When the history of this war is written, the receipts will show American complicity down to the nuts and bolts. Financing a tank factory amid a famine and a genocide investigation is not a policy of diplomacy or defense; it is a subsidy for destruction. It answers the question of how much the world will tolerate not with words, but with weapons, and signs the check with the American people’s name. Sources for this article include: MiddleEastEye.net Haaretz.com TimesOfIsrael.com CNN.com
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