IDF officials likely to agree to cut 2 billion
shekels, half of what Finance Ministry wants • Lapid, Bennett say IDF
must shoulder some of the austerity burden • Bennett: "We have a big
hole in our pipeline, a hole that is spewing billions of shekels each
month, billions that we do not have."
The IDF wants to avoid large
cuts, but Finance Minister Yair Lapid says the defense budget is too
big
|
Photo credit: Ziv Koren |
As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a
special meeting Sunday to discuss the scope of the defense budget, top
Israel Defense Forces officials warned that major spending cuts could
result in a debilitated army that may not be up to the security
challenges Israel faced.
Finance Minister Yair Lapid, Defense Minister
Moshe (Bogie) Ya'alon, IDF Chief of General Staff Benny Gantz and top
Finance Ministry officials met on Sunday, but so far no agreement has
been struck. Lapid and his advisors want to cut some 4 billion shekels
($1.12 billion), but IDF officials want that figure slashed in half.
According to Maariv, Finance Ministry officials hope the Defense
Ministry would come around to accept drastic cuts to its budget so as to
spare the public from more austerity measures. Last week, Lapid
introduced his draft budget bill, which included many unpopular measures
such as tax hikes and cuts to popular programs. This has resulted in a
wave of protests, with demonstrators saying he has effectively reneged
on a campaign pledge to be the champion of the middle class.
The conventional wisdom is that it would be
too late to cut the 2013 defense budget, as most of the funding has
already been spent or otherwise pledged to various recipients. IDF
officials have warned that major cuts in the 2014 budget might be
particularly harmful to the military because of the ongoing threats on
multiple fronts. They warn that the cuts would decrease the IDF's combat
readiness and effectively undo the progress made since the 2006 Second
Lebanon War. The IDF's shortcomings in that war was largely attributed
to the lack of training and insufficient resources.
Last week, Lapid said he was confident the
defense budget would be cut, unlike budget negotiations of previous
years that effectively ensured the Defense Ministry would not have to
tighten its belt. "There is a consensus on the need to cut defense
spending. I was surprised to learn that even the prime minister, the
minister of defense and the chief of general staff agree, and we are all
going to discuss it on Sunday," Lapid said last week.
Lapid would like the 2013 defense budget to
stand at 51 billion shekels ($14 billion) and the 2014 budget to stand
at 54.6 billion shekels ($15.3 billion). Lapid's plan would deny the
"wounded veteran" status to troops who are injured in car accidents
rather than in combat or training, and would slash retirement benefits
for IDF retirees. Lapid also seeks to establish a special ministerial
committee that would be tasked with overseeing defense spending.
Lapid got support from one of his main political allies
on Sunday. According to Israel Radio, Economy and Trade Minister Naftali
Bennett said the Defense Ministry must shoulder some of the burden on
Israelis, saying this was an economic necessity, but also a moral
imperative. "I expect the cabinet to vote affirmatively on major cuts to
the defense budget," Bennett said on Sunday. "We have a big hole in our
pipeline, a hole that is spewing billions of shekels each month,
billions that we do not have.
No comments:
Post a Comment