The Likud party on Monday accused opposition leader Yair Lapid of misleading the public over the defense budget, calling his claims false and politically motivated. The party argued that higher-than-expected state revenues allow a defense budget increase without tax hikes, and that coalition and Haredi budgets are at historic lows.
The Likud party on Monday issued a forceful response to opposition leader Yair Lapid's conditions on the defense budget, accusing him of misleading the public and dismissing his claims as false and politically motivated. Likud argued that higher-than-expected state revenues allow for increased defense spending without tax hikes, and that coalition and Haredi budgets are at historic lows. The statement directly rejects Lapid's demand that the defense budget increase be funded by canceling coalition funds and Haredi budget allocations, framing this as an abandonment of Israel's security.
The defense budget dispute has escalated since earlier today. At 14:49 Jerusalem, The Zioneer reported that during a security briefing, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested reopening the 2026 budget for additional defense funds, and Lapid expressed support but conditioned it on canceling coalition funds and budgets he says finance Haredi draft-dodging, while pledging not to raise taxes on the middle class and reservists. Likud's new statement directly counters that position.
The broader budget conflict has been ongoing for months. On July 2, The Zioneer reported that the Finance Ministry threatened a 4.5% VAT hike if defense receives a 30 billion shekel boost. On July 22, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich accused the Defense Ministry of routine budget overruns without oversight. On August 9, the Defense Ministry was reported to have secured a significant budget boost following a protracted struggle. These developments underscore the deep partisan and fiscal divisions surrounding military spending.
It remains unclear whether Lapid will respond to Likud's accusations, and whether the coalition will move forward with reopening the budget given the political standoff.
3 developments
Source and signal
- Open-source intake