Government approves $725 million emergency defense funding
The measure was adopted using a procedure that allows government decisions to be approved through telephone consultations during emergencies
Israeli government ministers approved an emergency allocation of 2.6 billion shekels (about $725 million) for the Defense Ministry during an overnight telephone vote between Saturday and Sunday. The funding is intended to cover urgent military procurement.
The request was submitted by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who stressed the urgency of the current security situation and the need for a rapid decision. According to the proposal presented to ministers, the funds will come from temporary reductions in other budget allocations—essentially an advance on the already approved state budget that still requires formal approval by the Knesset within the next two weeks.
The measure was adopted using a procedure that allows government decisions to be approved through telephone consultations during emergencies.
The move comes as the government accelerates efforts to pass Israel’s 2026 state budget, with the timetable moved forward from its original deadline at the end of March. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has recently stressed the importance of approving the budget quickly and has been coordinating closely with Smotrich on the process.
Because of the tight timeline, some reforms originally planned as part of the budget’s accompanying legislation may be postponed. Among them is a reform concerning the dairy sector, which could be debated separately later in the year.
The proposed budget is also expected to include significant increases in defense spending. Some officials within the government believe the current security situation could make it politically easier to pass the budget, potentially limiting opposition from Orthodox parties despite ongoing disagreements over legislation related to military service for yeshiva students.
As part of these efforts, Netanyahu met Thursday with representatives of Orthodox parties to persuade them to support the budget before the end of the month, even without a prior agreement on the conscription issue. Until now, those parties had conditioned their backing of the budget on progress toward a solution on the sensitive military service debate.