The battle over the defense budget is reaching a peak. Accountant General Michal Abadi-Boiangiu published a new estimate today of the cost of Operation Protective Edge NIS 6.5 billion, and not NIS 9 billion.
The Ministry of Defense is demanding a budget supplement of NIS 9 billion this year for Operation Protective Edge, NIS 11 billion next year for "reinforcement", and a further NIS 30 billion over the next few years for buying equipment such as armored personnel carriers.
Abadi-Boiangiu believes that another NIS 300 million should be cut from the army's estimate, representing money that in her view was spent on matters not connected to the operation. She also opposes recognizing amounts that the IDF as asking for in order to restore units to operational readiness.
The Ministry of Finance's estimate is some NIS 2.5 billion lower than that of the IDF, which is NIS 9 billion. Both estimates are based upon a reporting system that is the first of its kind, and that operated during the operation to relay detailed reports on the use of ammunition and costs of deploying forces.
The intention of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Defense is that IDF should be paid the costs incurred in the operation "from the first shekel". This is as opposed to what was done in Operation Pillar of Cloud, the previous IDF operation in the Gaza Strip, the cost of which the IDF absorbed in its regular budget. The difference lies in the length of the latest operation and in the heavy costs that were incurred, which really turned it into full-scale warfare. Both the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Defense said that the new reporting system brought transparency and control of military expenditure to an unprecedented level. After the operation, joint teams of the Accountant general and the Ministry of defense continued to analyze the reports.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 15, 2014
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