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RISHON LEZION, Israel - Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron on Thursday backed the establishment of a committee to examine Israel's defence budget, saying the ongoing war does not necessitate a"blank check" to the military.
"A prosperous economy requires security, and security requires a prosperous economy. Therefore, the war should not bring with it a blank check for permanent defence expenditures, and proper balances have to be found," Yaron said at a conference at the College of Management Academic Studies. With the budget deficit at 7% of GDP in April, above a 6.6% target for 2024, and rating agencies cutting Israel's credit rating, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich had sought a panel to monitor defence spending. But this was opposed by Defence Minister Yoav Gallant until the two on Wednesday agreed to form a committee, according to Smotrich.
Smotrich said that the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and the subsequent Israeli offensive in Gaza undermined many basic assumptions of how the defence budget was managed. As such, defence spending needs to adapt to current threats, while maintaining a balance between security and the economy as a whole, he said.Yaron said the committee should have been set up at the start of the year since the war looks to cost 250 billion shekels between 2023 and 2025.
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