“We will not say so explicitly, and we will not do anything that we don’t have to … but it is clear to us and the Russians that if we have to choose, our choice will be clear: Israel is on the side of the United States of America,” a senior Israeli source who asked not to identified told Al-Monitor.

His comment makes it clear that in a face-off between Russia and Ukraine, Israel would take Russia’s side, but when it comes to Russia and the United States, Israel will be forced to side with the United States despite its vested interest in security cooperation with President Vladimir Putin, whose troops cast a dark shadow over Israel’s northern front.

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, who explained during a television interview this week that Israel would “weigh its steps when the time comes,” found himself in trouble when the headlines that followed read that if the United States imposes sanctions on Russia, Israel would consider joining in.

Israel has worked to control the verbal escalation, but an increasing number of Israeli officials have admitted the truth that everyone from Putin in Moscow to President Joe Biden in Washington knows: Israel is on Washington’s side.