Israel’s parliament approved the country’s 2026 budget early Monday, providing a major increase in military spending as the country continues to engage in wars on multiple fronts.
MPs passed the budget with 62 votes in favor and 55 against.
The vote avoided an outright collapse of the government and snap elections that would have followed a failure to pass a budget by the end of March, under Israeli law.
The total proposed spending budget for 2026 amounts to around 850 billion Israeli shekels ($270 billion).
More than 30 billion shekels (US$9.6 billion) had been added to the defense ministry’s budget “in light of Operation ‘Roaring Lion'” bringing the total defense budget to more than 142 billion shekels, the parliament said in a statement, citing Israel’s war with Iran.
Israel’s defense spending has increased dramatically since the Gaza war broke out following the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
