Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich delivered a joint statement Tuesday evening regarding the accelerated approval of the state budget, clarifying that some benefits previously planned for citizens will be canceled due to the cost of the war.
The two leaders said the new budget will include a significant increase in funding for security needs, while removing several benefits that had been planned for the public.
Minister Smotrich explained: “Against the backdrop of the existential war we are waging to destroy the Iranian axis of evil, we are now convening for the immediate passage of the state budget, at the center of which will be the required addition to the defense budget to finance the war."
He added, “In order to succeed in this mission, we are now setting aside issues that are in dispute and are not appropriate during wartime. We are putting aside the Draft Law, which will not be advanced at this time, as well as several reforms around which we have not yet reached broad agreement. War is a time for unity and national responsibility, and I thank you, Mr. Prime Minister, and all members of the government and the coalition."
Smotrich further stated: “Passing the budget immediately will allow us, with God’s help, to win the war, provide better services to Israel’s citizens in many areas, establish a new regional order in the Middle East with the State of Israel as a regional and global power at its center, and place Israel on a path of accelerated growth, development, and prosperity in the coming years. Together, Mr. Prime Minister, we will, with God’s help, win the war and win in the economy."
Prime Minister Netanyahu added: “We are in a campaign against a cruel enemy that seeks to destroy us. We had to launch this campaign. But it costs a lot of money. Therefore we are required to allocate a special budget during the war-tens of billions of shekels-to support the defense budget and the war effort."