Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has entered a new confrontation with the Israeli army and the Ministry of Defense over the future of the defense budget following the end of the Gaza war.
اضافة اعلان
The security establishment’s top priority is to ensure that “Israel” secures sufficient funding to prepare for potential future confrontations with Iran, Hezbollah, the Houthis in Yemen, or Hamas in Gaza — in addition to terrorist threats emerging from the West Bank and other areas.
For Smotrich and his Finance Ministry team, however, the battle centers on reining in “defense” spending, which has surged to unprecedented levels over the past two years due to the war.
So far, neither side has publicly announced a definitive figure for the 2026 budget, despite repeated requests for clarification. Reports indicate that the Ministry of Defense is demanding a 144 billion shekel budget — covering its regular annual funding plus additional allocations related to the post–October 7 phase — while the Finance Ministry seeks to cut that number closer to 130 billion shekels.
By comparison, in 2015, the dispute between the Israeli army and the Finance Ministry over the Locker Committee report revolved around whether the defense budget would be 59 or 61 billion shekels.
Today, after the October 7 events, the lower estimates range between 70 and 90 billion shekels, reflecting the drastic shift in Israel’s security reality. These figures exclude the increases approved after October 7 or any provisions for future wars.
The Nagel Committee — established by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to provide strategic recommendations on national security and budgeting — recommended in January a 2025 defense budget of 123 billion shekels.
It appears that the two sides have reached a preliminary agreement on a base budget of 90 billion shekels for 2026, but the current dispute concerns additional funding related to postwar needs.
Retired Brigadier General Yaakov Nagel, head of the committee, submitted his recommendation without considering the possibility of major future conflicts.
While Nagel proposed a gradual process beginning in 2026 to return defense spending to prewar levels by 2030, Smotrich is pushing to begin this adjustment immediately by implementing real cuts to defense expenditures.
In response, Defense Ministry Director General, retired Major General Amir Baram, criticized Smotrich and the Finance Ministry, accusing them of undermining Israel’s ability to carry out future strikes against Iran or Hezbollah, even though such scenarios remain possible.
From Smotrich’s perspective, there is no justification for additional allocations at this stage, citing the 2014 Gaza war — which lasted 50 days — and cost only 7 billion shekels. (RT)
