Netanyahu: We'll increase defense budget by billions

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented the "2030 Defense Concept" to the cabinet today - principles for setting the defense budget for the coming years. Netanyahu is planning on adding 0.2-0.3% of GDP to the defense budget, while continuing the IDF streamlining program. He said that the target is a defense budget of at least 6% of GDP. When GDP reached $6 trillion, the necessary proportion of total defense spending will be reviewed.

"Globes" reported in late July that Netanyahu was considering a new formula for setting the defense budget in the coming years as a percentage of GDP, with no deviations. The defense budget increases by billions each year, but the ratio of the defense budget to GDP has been decreasing because the economic growth rate has been greater than the increase in defense spending. The defense budget reached a low of 5% of GDP in 2017, following a gradual, but continuous, decrease in the proportion of total national spending allotted to defense since the Yom Kippur War.

Ministry of Finance sources said, "There are no budgetary resources for increasing the defense budget. It was agreed that the Ministry of Finance would present the significance and consequences of this measure and its likely damage to budgets for social and economic spending at the next meeting."

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 16, 2018

Netanyahu: We'll increase defense budget by billions

The prime minister said the increase in the defense budget would be at least 6%.