From the Liveblog of
Monday, January 15, 2024
Cabinet passes budget, adding $15 billion amid Gaza war
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
The cabinet has passed an amended 2024 state budget adding 55 billion shekels ($15 billion) of extra spending, after three months of war against Hamas, the Finance Ministry says.
The extra funding includes money for defense and compensation for those impacted by the war, along with higher allocations for healthcare, police, welfare and education.
The measure passes only hours after an all-night meeting on the matter ended inconclusively in the face of ministerial opposition to across-the-board budget cuts.
“We reached an agreement, and we will now pass a very important budget. This is the war budget, which also takes care of the needs of our reservists, their families, the self-employed and government ministries and the needs of the public,” Netanyahu says ahead of the vote.
“We are increasing the health budget and adding a billion shekels to it for mental health, an important need. There are increases to the education budget, the welfare budget, the internal security budget, but most importantly the defense budget, which is simply essential for victory and for our future.”
“We are re-arranging our priorities,” declares Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
The Times of Israel Community.