Peres: Defense budget shouldn't bear brunt of cuts
President says that defense budget should not be cut to prevent deficit in time of war; 'Currently we cannot address all challenges we are facing,' he says
Peres, who spoke during a visit to a Golani Brigade training facility, said that "We live in a time when it feels like there is room to make cuts, but it isn't true. If excess spending exists, we should not wait for a social protest (to correct it). Either way, the defense budget should bear the brunt of the cuts.
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The president claimed that while there are always those who claim that the defense budget is excessive, "When times of war came around, we always had deficits. It cannot happen again. Even in the current situation we cannot address all the challenges we are facing."
Gantz, Peres at Golani training site (Photo: Moshe Milner, GPO)
'Price tag responses are anti-Jewish'
Peres, who was joined by IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Benny Gantz, watched a Golani Brigade exercise and wished the troops a happy Rosh Hashana.
"I saw you training in the hills, and your are Israel's real Hilltop Youth," he told them.
Addressing the recent wave of hostile incidents in which settlers vandalized property belonging to Palestinians, left-wing activists and in one case the IDF, Peres said that "Price tag responses are illegal, anti-Jewish and are an embarrassment to us. One is allowed to express an opinion, but one cannot to take the gun or the law into his own hands."
Peres rejected the possibility that he is to meet with Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but said that the situation between Jerusalem and Ankara cannot continue as it is.
Answering soldiers' questions regarding Israel's deepening isolation, he said: "If we were to have a peace process and security, the whole world would be with is. If we pursue the renewal of the negotiations, our situation in the world would be better. "
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