Government Approves Budget Cuts Affecting Gaza Envelope and Northern Israel Reconstruction

The Israeli government is set to approve sweeping budget cuts that will reduce funding for the rehabilitation of the Gaza Envelope and northern Israel. The cuts include a 130 million shekel reduction from the budget of "Tkuma" (Revival) Administration, responsible for Gaza Envelope reconstruction, and 114 million shekels from the "Tnuofa" (Momentum) Administration, tasked with rebuilding the north. The Tnuofa Administration was established in December 2025, over two years after the war began, with a budget of 11.4 billion shekels, plus an additional 940 million shekels allocated to northern communities before its establishment. The Tkuma Administration was formed on October 19, 2023, and its five-year plan, initially approved in April 2024 with a 19 billion shekel budget, has since been reduced in several phases to its current 17.5 billion shekels. For 2026, Tkuma's budget is 2.8 billion shekels allocated for 116 projects, including significant investments in education, economy, employment, construction, infrastructure, health, and welfare.

Local leaders from the Gaza Envelope and the "Atid Le'Otef" (Future for the Envelope) movement sent a letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu and Finance Minister Smotrich expressing concern that the cuts will impair the ability to provide welfare and health services, maintain resilience, and strengthen the education system. The letter stated that Israel declared the rehabilitation of the Gaza Envelope a national mission after October 7th and urged the government to ensure its budget decisions reflect this commitment. They demanded that the Tkuma program's budgets be fully exempted from the planned cuts, framing it not as a request for additional funds but as a demand to uphold existing commitments to the region's residents.