Knesset Finance Committee Approves Defense Budget Boost

The Knesset Finance Committee on Wednesday, September 23, approved the transfer of approximately 15 billion shekels to the Ministry of Defense and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) budget. The funds are primarily allocated for arms procurement and army needs, including expenses related to the service of tens of thousands of reservists. This decision is part of broader adjustments to the 2026 state budget, with the precise amount totaling 14.748 billion shekels. Approximately 11.75 billion shekels will come from the general budget reserve, and about 3 billion shekels from various defense and transportation expenditure items. Due to security concerns, the detailed breakdown of these expenditures was only presented to the joint defense budget committee. An additional 39 million shekels were allocated for the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. The government had initially approved this additional defense funding about two months prior, but the transfer awaited Knesset approval since August 2.

Given that the approval occurred less than 90 days before an election, such budget transfers required agreement between the ruling coalition and the opposition. Concurrently, the finance committee approved about 801 million shekels for the Ministry of Finance and the Tax Authority. Of this sum, 630 million shekels are designated to cover a deficit in the compensation fund following payments to businesses affected during "Operation Shagat Ha'ari." Another 164 million shekels were transferred to the National Insurance Institute to pay benefits to employees sent on unpaid leave during the operation. However, an agreement has not yet been reached regarding an additional 25 billion shekels in funding sought by the security establishment, with disputes over funding sources and potential impacts on the budget deficit and the need for further budget revisions.