Government Approves NIS 2.6 Billion Cut to Civilian Ministries for Defense Procurement

The government approved a NIS 2.6 billion reduction in civilian ministries’ budgets on Sunday to finance urgent defense procurement. The cut amounts to about 4.9% of the government’s flexible purchasing budget, with NIS 423 million coming from the Transport Ministry and about NIS 420 million from education, welfare and health combined. Finance Ministry legal adviser Dudi Kopel warned that a substantial reduction so late in the year would materially affect ministries’ operations and identified unimplemented allocations as possible alternatives. The legal opinion also cited defense officials’ warning that delayed approval could harm the necessary security response.