The Defense Ministry is pressing the Treasury for an immediate transfer of billions of shekels for urgent defense procurement, alongside tens of billions to implement the Prime Minister's rearmament plan, according to The Zioneer. The Treasury is reportedly working to find a way to meet the demand without breaching the state budget, which would require Knesset approval during the current election recess.
The Defense Ministry has issued a fresh demand for an immediate transfer of billions of shekels for urgent procurement, explicitly tied to Prime Minister Netanyahu's rearmament plan, The Zioneer reports. This follows the government's decision earlier today (Wed 18:39 Jerusalem) to bring an exceptional defense budget supplement to a cabinet vote during the Knesset recess, and a separate fast-track initiative by the Prime Minister and Finance Minister for a multi-year supplement worth tens of billions.
At 18:39 Jerusalem today, The Zioneer reported that the government would vote on an exceptional defense budget supplement during the Knesset summer recess, though the specific amount remained undisclosed. At the same time, Netanyahu and Finance Minister Smotrich were reported to be fast-tracking a multi-year supplement of tens of billions of shekels for urgent munitions and defense procurement, to be voted in three readings despite the dissolved Knesset. The current demand adds a specific tie to the Prime Minister's rearmament plan.
The Zioneer has previously reported on the broader budget dispute, including Defense Ministry requests for 40-50 billion shekels annually, and the Finance Ministry's warning that a 30 billion shekel boost would force a 4.5% VAT hike. The Treasury is now working to meet the new demand without breaching the state budget, which would require Knesset approval during the election recess.
The exact amount of the immediate transfer demanded by the Defense Ministry has not been specified, and it remains unclear how the Treasury will structure the arrangement to avoid breaching the budget ceiling.
3 developments
- StrongFinance Ministry greenlights immediate 15b shekel transfer to defense budget
- DevelopingIsrael's Defense Ministry seeks 40-50 billion shekel annual budget increase
- DevelopingDefense Ministry reportedly secures significant budget boost, overcoming Finance Ministry objections
- DevelopingNetanyahu approves tens of billions in defense budget increases
Source and signal
- Open-source intake