The Finance Ministry on Monday agreed to grant the military 2 billion shekels ($578 million) to kick start its multiyear work plan, dubbed "Momentum."
The allocation of funds was approved in s special meeting attended by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, Defense Minister Naftali Bennett, IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Eyal Zamir, and Treasury Accountant General Rony Hizkiyahu.
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Kochavi's plan was supposed to receive funding last year, but the process was stalled by Israel's political crisis, which will see the country hold an unprecedented third consecutive general elections in March.
Funding for the IDF's work plan is usually configured into defense spending and included in the state budget. However, under Israeli law, a caretaker government – like the one in place since the April 2019 elections – cannot pass a budget for its successor.
As a result, all government ministries are currently operating on a monthly budget amounting to 1/12 of their budget in 2019.
Kochavi's work plan was carefully outlined to cover dozens of issues, from procurement and R&D, to force build-up, structural changes, and social adjustments.
The funding appropriated on Monday is earmarked for several urgent projects, mainly relating to Israel's defense procurement.
