Government Set to Approve Dozens of New West Bank Settlements, Without Security Funding

The government is expected to approve tomorrow, Thursday, a decision to establish dozens of new settlements in Judea and Samaria, but Calcalist has learned that no budget source has been found for the security costs involved in the move. The Finance Ministry says that “there is a budgetary framework for establishing the settlements that was approved in the past, and now the intention is to bring a detailed decision.”

But the budgetary framework cited by the Finance Ministry covers only the construction costs of the settlements, estimated at about 1 billion shekels. The planning costs, amounting to 125 million shekels, were approved at the beginning of June, and those too had a budget source from coalition funds. However, the Finance Ministry is not taking into account the additional security costs that will result from establishing so many settlements. Senior IDF officials said in cabinet discussions around the decision that such a move would have budgetary implications, with estimates putting the security cost at about 1 billion shekels more.

At this stage, the IDF and the Defense Ministry are not formally providing figures for the additional security cost of establishing these settlements, but the Defense Ministry will be required to reflect them in the government decision, and the government will be required to find a budget source for them. However, there is concern that political pressure will be applied on the Defense Ministry and the IDF not to reflect these costs in the government decision. This concern is reflected in the Defense Ministry's refusal to take responsibility for the decision: the decision is being advanced by the Prime Minister's Office, and the driving force behind it is Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and his people.

It should be noted that there is a government decision, 3813, that budgets additional security expenditures for Judea and Samaria in the amount of 525 million shekels for 2026. Some Finance Ministry officials point to this decision as a budget source for the security costs associated with establishing the settlements. But Calcalist has learned that this budget covers all of Judea and Samaria, and according to estimates, only a quarter of it is relevant to the new settlements. In addition, the budget reflected in that government decision is a construction budget, such as road paving, but the main security cost is expected to be a recurring cost of manpower and additional operating hours, and there is no budget source for that.

It should be recalled that the Budget Law requires the government not to exceed the budget approved by the Knesset for this year, and the Numerator Law requires the government not to exceed the expected budget for the coming years. Therefore, any government decision that includes additional spending must point to a budget source, either by reallocating funds from another budget or through across-the-board cuts.