The Israeli government adopted on Friday a 2025 budget largely devoted to “supporting Israel's wars on several fronts” and “safeguarding the resilience of the economy”, according to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
The budget, which has yet to be voted on by the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, reaches 607.4 billion shekels (150 billion euros) and contains an envelope of nine billion shekels (2.2 billion euros) of aid to the thousands of reservists recalled by the army since the start of the October 7 war.
The public deficit stands at 4.3% for this year, said the far-right minister.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition has a majority in the Knesset but several ministers have criticized certain budget cuts. Itamar Ben Gvir (Internal Security, far right) denounced the reduction in his ministry's allocation which will “harm the proper functioning of the police, the prison administration and the emergency services”.
The ultra-Orthodox parties, the centerpieces of the coalition, are also putting pressure on the Prime Minister to counter a plan to conscript certain students of yechivot (Talmudic schools) who have until now been partly exempt from military service.
Mr. Netanyahu welcomed “a large budget, difficult but necessary in this year of war”.
He announced additional envelopes for Defense, while Israel faces Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah on its northern border and in Lebanon, and faces attacks and threats from Iran and its relays. The amount will be decided by a special commission on national security.
Opposition groups have criticized this 2025 budget project which, according to them, gives pride of place to Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition partners.
According to opposition leader Yair Lapid, a former prime minister, this budget will “increase the expenses of each family in Israel by 20,000 shekels per year” (or nearly 5,000 euros) and distribute “billions to ten useless ministries” .
Former Defense Minister Benny Gantz estimated on due to daily rocket fire from Hezbollah or the victims of the economic crisis that has hit the country for a year.
With AFP
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