Israeli Government Approves $700 Million Budget Cut for Defense Procurement
Translated & summarized from Haaretz by baba
The Israeli government approved a 4.9% budget cut for 2026, amounting to 2.6 billion shekels, to fund urgent defense procurement. This follows a previous cut from Arab society development funds and will impact ministries including Education, Transportation, and Health. The measure, previously agreed upon by the Knesset Finance Committee, comes after a significant increase to the defense budget last month.
The story in 6 lines · by baba
- The Israeli government approved a 2.6 billion shekel budget cut for 2026 to fund defense procurement.
- The cut represents an additional 4.9% reduction across various government budgets.
- The Ministry of Transportation will lose 423 million shekels from its budget.
- The Ministry of Education and Higher Education will be reduced by 354 million shekels.
- Requests for exemptions from the cuts by the Welfare and Health ministries were denied.
- The measure was previously approved by the Knesset Finance Committee.
The Israeli government has approved an additional 4.9% cross-the-board budget cut for 2026, totaling 2.6 billion shekels (approximately $700 million), to fund urgent defense procurement. This decision comes just a week after a 1.03 billion shekel cut was approved for the same purpose from funds allocated for Arab society development between 2027 and 2029.
The latest austerity measure will impact several ministries. The Ministry of Education and Higher Education will lose 354 million shekels, the Ministry of Transportation will be reduced by 423 million shekels, and the Ministry for National Security will see a cut of 224 million shekels. The Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs will be hit with a 138 million shekel reduction, and the Ministry of Health will lose 109 million shekels, after their requests for exemption from the cuts were denied.
The cross-the-board cut was previously approved by the Knesset Finance Committee, reflecting a joint agreement between the ruling coalition and the opposition. This move follows a decision last month by the government and the committee to add approximately 15 billion shekels to the defense budget.
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