Israeli Cabinet Approves $2.8 Billion Budget for Potential Strike against Iran

The Israeli army conducted exercises in the Golan Heights on Feb. 15 (AFP)
The Israeli army conducted exercises in the Golan Heights on Feb. 15 (AFP)
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Israeli Cabinet Approves $2.8 Billion Budget for Potential Strike against Iran

The Israeli army conducted exercises in the Golan Heights on Feb. 15 (AFP)
The Israeli army conducted exercises in the Golan Heights on Feb. 15 (AFP)

The Israeli government approved a multiyear draft general budget, to include an increase by around USD2.8 billion for a potential strike against Iran, following 36 hours of deliberations.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasted of approving the budget, saying that an agreement was reached on a multi-year plan for the security services and the army.

He pointed to the importance of the agreement, which he said was made unanimously with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, “with a little help on my part.”

Netanyahu explained that the budget would bring about a change in the course of military service, and in rewarding soldiers for service. He said that it would provide the appropriate financial reward for soldiers and officers, while shortening the period of service in order to reduce the period of engagement in the labor market, which he said constituted a tremendous change for Israel’s security and for the Israeli economy.

The budget approval comes two days after Ted Colbert, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, announced in Tel Aviv that Israel had requested the purchase of 50 F-15EX aircraft, and the modernization of all F-15 fighters.

Israel is planning to ask the US to sell its new 5,000 pound GBU-72 bomb to the Israeli army. The bomb weighs 5,000 pounds and can be used to strike underground Iranian nuclear sites.

The Israeli army had obtained USD1.5 billion in the 2021 budget to purchase weapons for the possible war with Iran. This year, it requested an additional USD3 billion, of which it obtained USD2.8 billion.



Dutch Tighten Controls on Military and Dual Use Exports to Israel

Containers in the Port of Rotterdam are seen in Rotterdam, Netherlands, November 1, 2022. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo
Containers in the Port of Rotterdam are seen in Rotterdam, Netherlands, November 1, 2022. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo
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Dutch Tighten Controls on Military and Dual Use Exports to Israel

Containers in the Port of Rotterdam are seen in Rotterdam, Netherlands, November 1, 2022. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo
Containers in the Port of Rotterdam are seen in Rotterdam, Netherlands, November 1, 2022. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo

The Dutch government said on Monday it had tightened export controls for all military and 'dual use' goods destined for Israel.

All direct exports and the transit of these goods to Israel will be checked to see if they comply with European regulations, and will no longer be covered by general export licences, the government said in a letter to parliament.

"This is desirable considering the security situation in Israel, the Palestinian territories and the wider region," foreign minister Caspar Veldkamp and trade minister Reinette Klever wrote, Reuters reported.

"Exporters will still be able to request permits, that will then be checked against European regulations."

The government said no military goods for Israel had been exported from the Netherlands under a general permit since Israel started its war in Gaza following the attacks by Hamas on October 7, 2023.

It said that the general licence for the export of "low risk information security goods", such as routers for network security, was frequently used for export to Israel.

It estimated that between 50 and 100 permits for the export of those goods would now have to be requested on an individual basis.

A Dutch court last year ordered the government to block all exports of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel over concerns they were being used to violate international law during the war in Gaza.