Israel: Parliament adopts massive increase in defense budget

The defense budget is expected to increase by over nine billion euros, out of a total budget of about 40 billion, more than double than in 2023.

The Israeli Parliament approved the 2026 budget on Monday, significantly increasing resources allocated to defense as Israel is engaged in a multi-front war.

As part of the budget update and the ‘Roaring Lion’ operation, over 30 billion shekels (about 8.3 billion euros) have been added to the Defense Ministry budget, bringing it to over 142 billion shekels.

The total proposed expenses for 2026 amount to around 850 billion Israeli shekels, approximately 235 billion euros. Defense expenses in the country have continued to rise since the start of the war in Gaza following Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israeli territory on October 7, 2023.

Israel has also been conducting attacks against Iran since February 28 and in southern Lebanon. During the debates preceding the vote, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich described the moment as a “historic turning point” for Israel, reshaping both security and economy approaches.

On the contrary, the main opposition leader, Yair Lapid, called this budget the “biggest theft in the history of the state.” He criticized the government for mismanaging the Iran war and delays in passing a law to mobilize ultra-Orthodox Jews who are largely exempt from military service.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reliant on ultra-Orthodox party allies to stay in power, maneuvers to postpone the adoption of the mobilization law. The defense spending increase will lead to a 3% reduction in other ministries’ budgets, as criticized by Yair Lapid.

Despite severe cuts in civilian budgets, funding for settlements remains unchanged, leading anti-settlement group Peace Now to criticize it as a “daylight robbery of public funds” benefiting a small group within the government’s base.

On December 4, the government approved a decision to invest over 761 million euros in the next five years for the development of settlements in the occupied West Bank, deemed illegal under international law.