The government meeting held today (Tuesday) on the issue of budget distribution included sharp clashes between the attending ministers.
The discussion focused on a proposed resolution for changes in the allocation of the state budget for 2025 and the years following, along with an additional budget for defense in light of war expenses.
After a heated debate, the government approved the horizontal cut and the addition of tens of billions to the defense budget.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said during the debate that the Ministry of Finance "is financing the expenses that have already occurred in the past during Operation Rising Lion and Gideon's Chariots," and emphasized that "the Ministry of Finance, unlike the Ministry of Justice, is egalitarian. They did this in the previous government as well."
In response, Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir attacked Smotrich, "Bezalel, you are making fun of everyone. You have the money, and you are also giving money to Hamas." He then turned to Minister Orit Strock and asked, "Where are you after all your shouting in the cabinet?"
Smotrich replied, "The only way money won't reach Hamas is through the food distribution centers." Struck added, "The cabinet decided that it wouldn't allow Hamas to take over the aid, so they set them up."
Minister Yoav Kisch accused Smotrich of "you prefer the children of Gaza over the children of Israel. You took 500 million and didn't even tell us about it. You do whatever you want and don't consider the ministers. You gave humanitarian aid to the children of Gaza instead of security to educational institutions for the children of Israel." Kisch even called Smotrich "a small man with a big ego."
The prime minister referred to the clashes and said, "What is going on at this table will not be resolved in an instant. We will hold a discussion about security in my office."
Smotrich's office said: "The Ministry of National Security diverted the security budget with a commitment to supplement it from another budgetary source in the ministry. So far, it has not done so. In accordance with the Minister of Finance's policy, there is maximum flexibility for the ministries so that each ministry manages its priorities independently. The Ministry of National Insurance is obliged to regulate the budgetary sources for the school security system, unless it decides on a different policy."
According to the Ministry of Finance, the government will be forced to approve an addition of approximately 31 billion shekels to the 2025 budget due to war expenses. Of this, almost 28 billion are designated for the defense budget, including 1.5 billion shekels for humanitarian aid centers in Gaza.
The ministry's statement emphasized that this is not an addition to the budget framework but a change in priorities, as part of a policy for responsible budget management and containing the deficit. Among the measures: prioritizing expenses for Operation Rising Lion facilitating the departure of workers on unpaid leave, providing protection, shelter renovation and reimbursement to authorities for emergency expenses.
The main budgetary sources will come from reduced allocations to coalition agreements and tax benefits, as well as from a 3.35% across-the-board reduction in government ministry budgets starting in 2026.