Netanyahu: Significant increase needed in defense budget
After Defense Minister Ya'alon says 'there are no cheap wars', Lapid demands limit on military budget, Netanyahu says 'several billion' needed to meet threats.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for an increase in defense spending on Monday, after a bloody and costly war in Gaza. "There is no leader who, faced with the threats that are multiplying around us, would not allow or demand a significant increase in the defense budget, to counter security challenges," he said in a statement.
Such an increase would likely involve "several billion" NIS, Netanyahu said. "We must constantly defend our security. This was and remains our first and highest goal because everything else is made possible thanks to security," Netanyahu said.
"Today it is possible to compare the blow that we delivered to Hamas and the terrorist organizations in Gaza to the challenge facing the international community – dozens of countries are confronting a body that is more or less the size of Hamas," he said, drawing a comparison between the Gaza group and the Islamic State militants ravaging Syria and Iraq.
Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon have been fighting for a big hike in defense spending against fierce resistance from Finance Minister Yair Lapid. While Lapid refuses to raise taxes and prefers to increase the deficit, Netanyahu prefers that former, saying an increase deficit is the wrong way to go.
The cost of Operation Protective Edge, Israel's third and longest Gaza war in six years, is estimated at around three to four billion dollars, experts say. The defense ministry has demanded a grant for roughly four billion dollars to restock on ammunition, including for the Iron Dome defense system. While the treasury reportedly wants to limit the sum to $690 million.
Earlier Monday, Ya'alon said "Security costs money, there are no cheap wars. We need more Iron Dome batteries, and other systems."
The defense ministry is seeking nearly 70 billion shekels ($20 billion) in the 2015 budget, an increase of $3 billion over 2014, as it settles the bills from its Gaza war and draws up plans to confront enemies on other borders.
"Yes, it costs billions. But think of the alternative cost - what damage 4,500 rockets might have caused without the protection of the Iron Dome? Try to imagine the IDF without intelligence capabilities that allowed for attacks from the air, land and sea. That costs billions too. Imagine the state of Israel without obstacles to defense means on our borders. That costs billions too," Ya'alon said.
If it gives into the financial demands of a powerful military lobby, the government could be forced to cut budgets elsewhere, particularly in education, and to increase taxes, bringing socio-economic pressure on itself.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has tried to tread a middle line, calling defense spending a critical priority while emphasizing that nothing will be done that risks blowing out the budget deficit or jeopardizing Israel's credit rating.
"The state of Israel needs a responsible budget that answers the security threats directed at us and which will not adversely affect the Israeli economy," he said on Sunday.
Defense spending is expected to reach $18 billion this year - making up some six percent of GDP - and includes some $3 billion in aid from ally the United States.
AFP and Reuters contributed to this report
