Ramallah: A committee of review has recommended freezing the Israeli military budget at 59 billion shekels ($15 billion; Dh56.75 billion) for the next five years.
In addition, the Committee to Evaluate the Military Budget, headed by Major-General Yohanan Locker, has recommended shortening compulsory military service to two years and ending the option of early retirement for non-combat officers.
The committee has also recommended that the size of the military budget should be fixed via legislation, with the proviso that it can only be altered during a war or a recession.
However, the recommendations have been opposed by Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon.
In comments in Israeli news source Ynet news, Ya’alon said, “The Locker report is a superficial, radically unbalanced report and is totally disconnected from the reality surrounding Israel and within it.”
“The report, if implemented, will be a gamble on the security of Israel’s citizens. The idea of shortening compulsory service to two years results from a total misunderstanding of the military,” he said.
“Those who wish to deal successfully, as we have until now, with Daesh [the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant], Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran and dozens more uncontrolled terror organisations armed with advanced weapons — cannot allow themselves to build a mediocre military with mediocre people. Unfortunately, the Locker report is leading Israel and its citizens to exactly that place.”
Israeli news service Times of Israel cited an anonymous defence official as describing the report “a bullet between the eyes of the Israeli military” and a plan “suitable for Switzerland,” not Israel.
The Israeli military proposes a $7.8 billion budget for next year — the highest in Israel history. The military proposes fixing its annual budget at 30 billion shekels ($7.8 billion), which is higher than any previous military budget in Israel’s history.
