Lapid calls on Netanyahu to convene defense budget committee, release NIS 11b. to IDF

Opposition leader Yair Lapid called on Netanyahu to convene the defense budget committee and release NIS 11 billion for urgent military purchases.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to convene the Knesset committee overseeing the defense budget and immediately approve NIS 11 billion for urgent IDF procurement, arguing that the move could be carried out without breaching the state budget or raising taxes.

“I am once again calling on Prime Minister Netanyahu: We have a legal way to resolve the issue of the IDF’s immediate stockpiles without breaking the budget framework and raising taxes,” Lapid said.

“Let’s convene the joint committee on the defense budget and immediately transfer NIS 11 billion that has been waiting for many months for urgent defense procurement,” he continued.

Lapid's statements came after he and Netanyahu held a security briefing on Monday, during which Lapid requested that the state budget be reopened to allocate additional funds to the defense establishment.

The opposition leader said he would not support the proposal if it meant raising taxes and, instead, conditioned his support for the prime minister’s proposal on canceling coalition funds being transferred “to finance haredi (ultra-Orthodox) draft evasion.”

Lapid had noted that, in general, he supported transferring the funds to increase the defense establishment’s budget “because the IDF needs to be strengthened.”

Adjustments can be made to the state budget if they receive the required Knesset approval.

The Knesset is currently on summer recess ahead of the October elections, but the plenum can still convene under certain circumstances. As a result, opposition support would be significant for advancing Netanyahu’s proposal.

Netanyahu’s ruling Likud party stated after the Monday meeting that Lapid was “misleading the public about the defense budget.”

Increasing defense budget without raising taxes

The party argued that it could increase the defense budget without raising taxes.

Defense Minister Israel Katz later said Lapid should support additional funding for the IDF, arguing that the “economic situation is good” and that the necessary funds were available but required formal legislation in the Knesset. He stated the request was not connected to any tax increases or other budgetary items.

The 2026 state budget that was approved in March included an expenditure cap of about NIS 699 billion.

The Defense Ministry’s budget was set at nearly NIS 142b. Because of the war, the sum was said to have increased by about NIS 32b.

The 2026 state budget also included nearly NIS 6b in coalition funds, with hundreds of millions of shekels directed to haredi institutions as part of the proposal.