Israeli Government Approves $700 Million Cut for Defense Needs

The political leadership proceeded with the broad reduction despite recommendations from the professional staff at the Ministry of Finance, who had suggested cutting coalition-specific funds instead. No funds were removed from coalition budgets. The Ministry of Finance's legal advisor, Dudi Koppel, warned of significant consequences for ministry operations due to the scale and timing of the cut, which comes with only about two and a half months remaining in the fiscal year.

The cuts will reduce funding for several key sectors, including 285 million shekels from education, 225 million shekels from national security, 150 million shekels from health, and 140 million shekels from welfare. Additionally, 244 million shekels will be cut from rehabilitation budgets for the Gaza border and northern regions, including 130 million shekels from the Tzukoma administration and 114 million shekels from the Tnuofa administration. According to Maariv, the health ministry's budget has now been reduced by approximately 600 million shekels since the start of the year, alongside the elimination of over 100 positions.

While the resolution does not detail the nature of the classified procurement, a document accompanying the decision noted that delaying approval until after the formation of a new budget could harm security responses. Gaza border region officials had previously urged that rehabilitation budgets be exempted, warning of negative impacts on local resilience and education.