Questions are beginning to swirl as Hamas fighters have reportedly been found to be in possession of Chinese manufactured weapons.
According to Newsweek, Israel Defense Forces claim to have found military equipment, including cartridges and rifle sights used for M16 rifles, that was made in China.
Israeli intelligence reported to Britain’s Telegraph that finding caches of Chinese weapons was no surprise, and it raises speculation as to whether the weapons were given to Hamas directly by the Chinese or whether they came through a third-party intermediary.
The source claimed that the scale and sophistication of the equipment was something that was previously foreign to Hamas.
University of Bath defense expert and former NATO analyst Dr. Patrick Bury questioned how modern armaments like grenade launchers made it into the hands of Hamas. Bury claimed that Iran provided training and funding for Hamas and played “at least some role” in the equipment’s transfer.
Newsweek clarified that it has not been able to determine the veracity of the reports.
However, this is not the first accusation of China’s involvement in the Middle Eastern conflict.
Just last month, a military blogger on the Chinese blogging site Weibo suggested that the Iran backed Houthis were using anti-ship missiles adapted from Chinese technology. The Houthis recently began attacking commercial ships in the Red Sea, further expanding the conflict’s reach.
If there is any veracity to these reports, the world, and in particular the United States, should be on high alert.
Is China arming Hamas?
It’s no secret that China has long sought to wrestle economic and military superiority away from the U.S. The Chinese seize on any opportunity to push the U.S. one step back.
But in this case, the Chinese may be using America’s own playbook against it. If China is really arming Hamas, they could use Hamas to destabilize the strongest U.S. ally in the Middle East — and further strengthen their own regional interests.
The U.S. has employed a similar strategy in Ukraine by providing military equipment to the Ukrainians, thereby weakening the Russian military without so much as firing a single shot.
So, there really cannot be any finger pointing on the part of the U.S. if the Chinese are indeed stealing a page out of our own book. The bigger question is, how will the U.S. respond to these reports?
At the very least, the accuracy of these claims should immediately be investigated. If it turns out that the Chinese are indeed supplying Hamas, be it directly or through a third-party like Iran, America’s next move is crucial.
The Chinese likely aren’t afraid of a U.S. response and feel that their actions will go unanswered. And if they prove to be right, this would be a cause for concern.
What would stop the Chinese from ratcheting up materiel shipments? Or the Iranians getting directly involved in the conflict? These actions are predicated on a lack of response by the U.S.
At the very least, the U.S. should double down its commitment to its strongest, if not only, ally in the region. If the Chinese are going to arm Hamas, the U.S. needs to ensure is Israel is fully capable of defending itself.
And at this point, that is the extent of the action that the U.S. needs to take.
Direct conflict with the Chinese, Iranians or even the Houthis is the last thing that both the U.S. public and government want.
The U.S. has two main goals: to remind the world of its commitment to the defense of Israel and its people and to warn China, Iran and other adversaries that there are consequences to their actions.
If we fail to do this, we will lose respect on an international level and embolden our enemies to take bigger, more drastic measures — the likes of which could have dire consequences for not only the Middle East, but the world itself.
