Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is holding up the transfer of a nearly $1.7 billion budget for the procurement of ammunition and combat equipment urgently needed by the Israeli military and security forces amid the current fighting, Israel Hayom has learned.
Half of the delayed budget is earmarked for the purchase of air munitions for aircraft operating nonstop since the war began, while another half is for Iron Dome interceptor missiles and additional funds for other systems.
The procurements involve Israeli-made munitions from domestic defense industries like Israel Aerospace Industries and Rafael. As commercial companies, they require payment upfront to order raw materials and begin production, as they cannot fund the military until the budget is approved.
A committee that could influence the military's structure
The $1.7 billion Smotrich is withholding comes from a $45 billion annual defense budget already passed for this year's war operations. However, despite the approval, the Finance Ministry is delaying the full appropriation to pressure the security establishment into establishing a public committee to examine the defense budget.
Citing various considerations, some of which are allegedly politically motivated, Smotrich is demanding a public committee composed of security and economic experts to review the defense budget. However, he wants the committee not only to examine the budget but to have a mandate to make decisions that would impact the military's structure.
Previously, Israel Hayom reported that Smotrich was also delaying a decision on purchasing US fighter jet squadrons, even though the funding comes from American military aid paid directly to American companies. In Smotrich's view, the security establishment failed on October 7, so it is appropriate for an external body to scrutinize matters. The security forces counter that the military and Defense Ministry have always determined their work plans, approved by elected officials, arguing the Finance Ministry cannot dictate how many brigades the military maintains or which aircraft the air force acquires.
Since the war's outbreak, and more intensely in recent months, Israel has effectively faced an arms embargo, with few countries willing to sell it combat equipment. Therefore, the security forces rely primarily on the United States and domestic production.
