Earlier today, Friday, the Israeli Defense Minister’s office stated that the defense budget for 2026 will amount to 112 billion shekels ($34.63 billion), according to Reuters. In a previous development, the Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, decided to increase the defense budget by 350 billion shekels ($107 billion) over 10 years, an increase of nearly 70% of the defense budget before the war.
The increase approved by Netanyahu aims to restore the Israeli army after the Gaza war, which affected its capabilities, amid talk of a shortage of personnel, a decline in funding, and a request to arm and equip new military units.
On the other hand, the Israeli Ministry of Finance expressed reservations about allocating the budget to defense and security, considering that this would lead to economic pressures and a rise in the deficit. The new increase means an additional annual burden of approximately $11 billion on the budget.
According to the latest government acknowledgment, military spending is increasing by more than 70% compared to what was planned before the war, placing Israel second in the world after Ukraine in terms of the ratio of military spending to gross domestic product. (“Erem News”)
