Government to approve transfer of one billion shekels for 'classified and urgent' defense procurement

The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Defense will bring to the government for approval today, Sunday, the transfer of an additional one billion shekels to the Ministry of Defense.

According to the proposal, this exceptional procedure during the parliamentary recess is taking place in light of the emergency situation in which the State of Israel finds itself, given the urgent need to provide an operational response and the requirement for classified procurement.

Funding Sources

The procurement was already approved by the Ministerial Committee for Defense Procurement last Friday. The bulk of the amount, 850 million shekels, will be taken from a budget intended in 2026 for investments in the technology sector, as part of the Ministry of Economy and Industry's budget for promoting investments and encouraging employment. An additional 150 million shekels will come from budgets that were reserved in previous government decisions but have not yet been allocated this year.

In other words, this is not a new budgetary addition of one billion shekels to the state treasury, but a change in priorities within the 2026 budget and the diversion of existing sources for the benefit of the Ministry of Defense.

"Without approval of the budget source, it would not be possible to implement the urgent procurement decision, and therefore it is necessary to approve the decision without delay," the attached legal opinion states.

The opinion also addresses the fact that the move is being brought during an election period, in which the government is required to exercise restraint in the exercise of its powers, but determines that due to the urgency and security necessity, there is no legal impediment to approving it.