Smotrich's recommendation caused major change in defense budget
Dr. Aaron Lerner 19 May 2024

The following item is noteworthy as Gantz slams the righter wing member of
the cabinet, which include Treasury Minister Smotrich:

"The initial signs of the confrontation blossomed back in December. During a
government discussion, a draft for a defense budget supplement of 222
billion shekels for the next four years was put on the table. Smotrich
wondered aloud how the IDF managed to quickly prepare, under fire, a budget
proposal that incorporates the lessons of the war with future needs. The IDF
representatives in the discussion were offended: "You don't trust us?"
Smotrich, as usual, clarified that he indeed did not trust them. He was also
unimpressed by the macho remark Gallant threw at him: "I don't tell you how
to manage the economy, don't tell me how to manage security."

In the subsequent budget discussion, a significant amendment in the spirit
of one of Smotrich's recommendations was introduced, but this amendment
actually increased his suspicions that the IDF was still improvising. The
Finance Minister demanded the establishment of a public committee to examine
the defense budget, which would include expert representatives appointed by
him. The events of October 7 and onwards convinced him that the traditional
priorities of the system rest on a high mountain of shaky assumptions. The
committee he demands to establish might refresh these assumptions; for
example, preferring the addition of divisions to the ground forces over the
addition of squadrons to the Air Force, or finding a more appropriate
response to the Iranian threat than what the General Staff currently
proposes, perhaps under the illusion that Israel is capable of thwarting the
threat on its own. Instead of erecting a new fence on the Jordanian border
for 4 billion shekels to prevent the increasing arms smuggling from Tehran
to the West Bank, perhaps a line of fortifications would be better? After
all, on October 7, it was proven what a fence is worth."

Hagai Segal Makor Rishon 17 May 2024
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