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Sunday, March 23, 2025
MKs okay NIS 136 billion for defense, with focus on securing border with Jordan
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"
Lawmakers have approved a 2025 defense budget of NIS 136 billion ($36.5 billion), including hundreds of millions of shekels for security along the Jordanian border “in order to stop smuggling and infiltration,” the Knesset Joint Defense Budget Committee announces.
“Away from the spotlight and media reports, we have now concluded the defense budget discussions,” says Likud MK Yuli Edelstein, the chairman of the joint committee, which is comprised of members of the Foreign Affairs and Defense and Finance Committees.
“I am proud to announce that we have added a significant budget to the Defense Ministry Rehabilitation Department so that we can provide the best care and treatment to the victims of the war, both physically and mentally. We also approved the allocation of hundreds of millions of shekels to establish security measures on the eastern border of the State of Israel, to stop smuggling and infiltration from there,” Edelstein says.
The committee held 24 discussions, and hearings from the heads of the Shin Bet, Mossad and other agencies as well as from Brigadier General (Res.) Prof. Jacob Nagel, who heads a special panel appointed by the government last year to make long-term recommendations on the security budget in the coming decade.
The Times of Israel Community.