TEL AVIV \u2013 Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman flagged unplanned developments in a \u201cfragile and explosive\u201d region as justification for seeking an additional 4.8 billion shekels, or $1.4 billion, beyond funds earmarked for defense in a multiyear agreement between the Israeli Treasury and the Ministry of Defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He noted that the 2015 agreement hammered out between Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon and former Defense Minister Moshe Ya\u2019alon contained a clause allowing for reopening of budgetary negotiations in the event of security or economic changes defined by respective ministries as \u201cforce majeure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019s been significant, dramatic changes in the security situation, that altered our situational assessment in a meaningful way,\u201d Liberman told reporters here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He cited three issues of force majeure: \u201ca massive Russian presence\u201d in Syria that did not exist when the budget deal was signed, introduction of precision weaponry by Hizbollah and \u201cother sources,\u201d and a \u201cdramatic acceleration of the Iranian defense industries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Liberman, the Arab League shares Israeli concerns regarding the acceleration and expansion of the Iranian defense industry. \u201cThis has become a source of worry not just here. The Arab League also discussed this recently in Egypt.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Israeli defense minister said additional funds would be spread over three years, and that a quarter of his requested plus-up would come from savings achieved through MoD efficiency measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of the existing budgetary agreement that was to continue through 2020, Liberman said: \u201cThe easiest way would be to adhere to the agreement\u2026 it may be the easiest, but not the correct way\u201d to respond to changing events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under the 2015 budget deal, Israeli defense spending for 2018 was pegged at some $20 billion, which includes U.S. military aid. Under a new U.S.-Israel aid deal signed in September 2006, which kicks in later next year, Israel is to receive $3.8 billion in nonrefundable grant aid for each year of the decade to come, $500 million of which is earmarked for missile defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ofer Shelah, an Israeli lawmaker and member of a Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Defense Budget, said Liberman would have to come and explain to lawmakers how his requested budget boost fits into an overall national defense plan. \u201cSuch requests may be valid, but how are we to know without a comprehensive plan for how the government and the defense establishment intends to deal with these changes,\u201d said Shelah, a prominent lawmaker who also serves on the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and a subcommittee on defense strategy and force structure buildup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Liberman told reporters here that he has no complaints regarding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or Finance Minister Kahlon, and that even without his requested plus-up, he would ensure that the IDF would be ready to fight all threats. However, he warned, \u201cI want everyone to be aware of the sensitive situation we\u2019re finding ourselves in\u2026 The government needs at the end of the day to decide, and in order to ensure the security of the citizens of Israel, we need a supplement to our defense budget.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added, \u201cAt the end of the day, the situation here is fragile and explosive. We\u2019ve succeeded a few good years already in preserving the highest level of security, and our primary aim remains focused on preventing the next war.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman flagged unplanned developments in a “fragile and explosive” region as justification for seeking an additional 4.8 billion shekels, or $1.4 billion, beyond funds earmarked for defense in a multiyear agreement between the Israeli Treasury and the Ministry of Defense.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":83944,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":47,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[160,11,47,36],"tags":[],"coauthors":[2818],"class_list":["post-43784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-global","category-mideast-africa","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"RXUTP7N3JZC73CB2C2NACT7I7Q","arc_canonical_url":"\/global\/mideast-africa\/2017\/11\/22\/israeli-defense-minister-seeks-defense-budget-boost\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n