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Photo: IDF Spokesperson's unit
IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz observing drill
Photo: IDF Spokesperson's unit

Public dispute over IDF procurement practices

Director General of Defense Ministry hits back at claims that inefficiencies cost Israel tens of millions of shekels a year.

Director General of the Defense Ministry (res.) Maj. Gen. Dan Harel refuted claims Monday that the IDF's procurement practices were inefficient.

 

 

"The claims that we do not know how to improve the budget's efficiency or that there is grease in the defense establishment are removed from reality. The defense budget is decreased year-over-year compared to the social budgets," he said.

 

Harel emphasized that "the claim that every shekel that goes to security and not to health or education has no foundation and should not be repeated."

 

The ministry's director general noted that the defense establishment has been without a multi-year plan for four years and that "the security industries have fired and will fire thousands of workers because the channels of communication have been cut."

 

The defense establishment has avoided pointing the finger directly at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but has often reiterated that all decisions and directives on the military's budget were received and approved by the cabinet.

 

Procurement problems

Improving the system by which the IDF and the Defense Ministry procure equipment could have saved tens of millions of shekels annually, according to figures from the defense comptroller revealed to Ynet earlier Monday.

 

The figures were originally raised during an internal discussion conducted by the IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot with officials from the defense comptroller's office.

 

"The investigations revealed that the defense establishment's shoddy procurement habits, from the purchase of a pencil to that of a plane," said one security source.

 

He emphasized that "everything is done legally and according to protocol, there is no corruption or criminal activity, only an outdated and cumbersome system for procuring equipment worth billions of shekels a year."

 

The IDF Spokesperson's Unit and Defense Ministry's response did not address the alleged inefficiencies: "We have no intention of addressing what was said behind closed doors."

 

Over the weekend, the Defense Ministry halted all military procurements which were not related to operations, security, or directly needed by soldiers – food, uniforms, and the like.

 

Sources in the ministry emphasized that no new orders would be signed until the office finished examining the issue.

 


פרסום ראשון: 05.27.14, 00:34
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