Israel's top authorities remain neutral on Russia and won't offer sanctions against Moscow or supply weapons to Ukrainians.
According to Russian publication, The Insider, both Israel's Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett have been careful not to invoke Russia when mentioning the atrocities that took place in Bucha, a small city outside of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, and all other matters of destruction left in the wake of a Russian retreat.
"We're shocked by the terrible sights in Bucha – awful scenes – and we condemn them. The suffering of Ukrainian citizens is immense, and we're doing everything we can to assist," Bennett said in a televised news conference.
However, not all in the upper echelons of the Israeli government are in agreement about not condemning Russia. On Sunday, Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yair Lapid tweeted, "it is impossible to remain indifferent in the face of the horrific images from the city of Bucha near Kiev, from after the Russian army left. Intentionally harming a civilian population is a war crime and I strongly condemn it."
Conversely, Israel's Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman disagrees with Lapid. For Lieberman, the war is not so simple. So far, Lieberman has not condemned Russia for Bucha and has instead stressed the importance of Israel's own values and interests.
"We all condemn war crimes. There are mutual accusations here: Ukraine blames Russia, Russia blames Ukraine," Lieberman stated.
After Lieberman's comment, Ukraine's ambassador to Israel, Yevhen Korniychuk, said, "I invite Mr. Lieberman to Ukraine. We will take him under escort to Bucha and other places where he can see with his own eyes the bodies of civilians and meet the women who were tied up and raped. Maybe then he'll know what happened."
According to The National Review, Israel is not sending any weapons to Ukrainians over possible concerns of risking conflagration in Syria, where Russian forces are said to be assisting Bashar al-Assad's regime. However, Israel may send ceramic armor and helmets.