Netanyahu's government votes to cut $840 million for military funding

Underground government meeting

Israeli media reported that Benjamin Netanyahu's government will meet on Sunday in an underground location to vote on reducing 2.6 billion shekels from ministry budgets to fund urgent military purchases. The "Yisrael Hayom" newspaper stated that the government meeting would be held today in a secure underground location.

Cuts to public services

The official broadcasting authority reported that the government would vote during its meeting to implement a across-the-board reduction of 2.6 billion shekels (approximately $840 million) from all ministry budgets "to fund urgent security purchases," without specifying them. According to Channel 12, the funding will be deducted from the budgets of ministries including Education, Health, and Social Welfare, while coalition funds allocated to parties participating in the government will not be affected.

Financial warnings

Channel 12 quoted unnamed officials in the Ministry of Finance as saying: "We warned that the massive increases in the security establishment's budget would come at the expense of citizens." This anticipated reduction comes days after the government's decision on Wednesday to allocate 1.03 billion shekels ($333 million) to purchase "Apache" helicopters from the United States.

Funding through the development plan

These funds were provided through cuts affecting the development plan allocated for the Palestinian sector within Israel (for the period between 2027 and 2029), according to the channel. For some time, Netanyahu has spoken about the possibility of Israel facing attacks prior to the general elections on October 27, which opposition leaders have considered electioneering through intimidation.

Source: Anadolu Agency