Wednesday, September 17, 2014

NETANYAHU CALLS TO RAISE ISRAELS DEFENCE BUDGET BY BILLIONS

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Ya'alon Slammed For Bennett Squabble Amid Gaza Mortar Fire-MK Struk defends her party chairman, as Hotovely says failure to respond clearly to ceasefire breach will return 'routine of sirens.'By Hezki Ezra, Ari Yashar-First Publish: 9/16/2014, 10:57 PM-ISRAELNATIONALNEWS

MK Orit Struk (Jewish Home) sharply criticized Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon for cracking down on suspected unauthorized leaks of IDF information to Economics Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) on Tuesday - the same day that a mortar shell from Gaza breached the ceasefire."Hamas fired a multi-rocket salvo in honor of the agreement to reconstruct Gaza. But the defense minister is busy hazing (former IDF Chief) Rabbi (Avichai) Ronski and slandering Minister Bennett," wrote Struk, noting a dispute over information Bennett reportedly used to attack top IDF brass in Security Cabinet meetings.While Ronski was identified in reports as being the suspected source of the leaks who was later dismissed, he told Arutz Sheva on Tuesday that he did not pass any materials to Bennett, has not heard anything of the dismissal - and indeed still is scheduled to perform reserve duty next month.Struk went on to glowingly defend her party chairman, writing "as a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in the operations Brother's Keeper and Protective Edge, I can say with certainty: if not from the firmness, creativity and courage, and the unmediated connection to the territory of Naftali, both operations would have looked different for the worse."A senior political source disagreed with that assessment on Tuesday, claiming "Bennett slept in the field during Protective Edge because he needed pictures and Facebook 'likes,' at a time when the defense minister managed the war with discretion," reports Walla!.Deputy Transportation Minister Tzipi Hotovely (Likud) also responded to the mortar fire on Tuesday night, saying "the IDF must respond strongly to every breach of the ceasefire.""This is a test of the strength of Israel's deterrence," added Hotovely. "The absence of a clear response will return Israeli citizens to the routine of rocket sirens."

Dispute Over War Cost Reflects in Budget Crisis-The debate over how much Operation Protective Edge cost Israel is having a practical effect on the state budget, reports say.By Yaakov Levi-First Publish: 9/15/2014, 3:56 PM-ISRAELNATIONALNEWS

The debate over how much Operation Protective Edge cost Israel is having a practical effect on the state budget. A report on Israel Radio Monday said that as a result of its lower estimates of the war's costs, the Finance Ministry is unlikely to give the Defense Ministry all of the money it is demanding.Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said that the operation cost Israel at least NIS 9 billion ($2.5 billion). The operation required heavy use of explosives, military machinery and vehicles, as well as expensive Iron Dome inteceptors.“An Iron Dome interception costs $100,000. It is worthwhile, from a financial perspective, but is still expensive,” Ya'alon said. The Defense Ministry is demanding at least that much of an allocation increase in the state budget now under negotiation.But the Treasury sees things differently. The report said that officials close to Finance Minister Yair Lapid believe that the war cost only NIS 6.5 billion, nearly a third less than the army's estimate. As such, the Defense Ministry's demands are unwarranted, Lapid's aides say – and that conviction will be reflected in the final amount to be allocated to the Ministry.Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is supporting Ya'alon's position. Netanyahu has argued for increasing the security budget and decreasing Israel's deficit. Lapid, who was criticized for raising taxes soon after he came to office, has stated that he has no intention of passing a budget that will negatively affect the middle class.Sources close to Netanyahu blame Lapid for the current dissensus, arguing that the steps he is taking are actually an attempt to dissolve the coalition and force new elections, through which he hopes to become Opposition Leader. Conversely, Yesh Atid, Lapid's party, claims the delay is only due to professional disputes, and that Netanyahu is creating an "imaginary crisis" in order to serve his political needs.Netanyahu and Lapid are expected to meet in the afternoon on Tuesday to discuss the budgetary demand for additional funds for the Ministry of Security. The amount is 11 billion shekels more than Lapid initially wished to assign to security.

Netanyahu Calls to Raise Defense Budget by 'Many Billions'-Prime minister says 'any responsible leader' faced with growing threats would raise defense budget, as dispute with Lapid deepens.By Ari Yashar-First Publish: 9/15/2014, 7:32 PM-ISRAELNATIONALNEWS

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday held a traditional toast ahead of the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashana) for employees of his office, in which he called for a "significant increase" in the defense budget following Operation Protective Edge."Any responsible leader, in the face of the increasing threats around us, would demand and make possible a significant increase in the defense budget given the reality and the growing security challenges around us and this is what we will do, a significant increase of many billions," stated Netanyahu.The statements come as Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon have been pushing for an increase in defense spending - a move Finance Minister Yair Lapid has been fiercely opposing.The dispute partially revolves around the cost of the operation, with Ya'alon pricing it at nine billion shekels ($2.5 billion) and Lapid saying it cost only 6.5 billion shekels ($1.8 billion). The difference means Lapid is unlikely to allocate the full amount being requested.Reportedly Lapid's Finance Ministry wants to limit the grant to restock military supplies, including those used in the expensive Iron Dome anti-missile defense system, to $690 million.Netanyahu on Monday also spoke about the wider issues facing the Middle East, and again compared the Hamas terrorist organization with Islamic State (ISIS), a comparison Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) affirmed recently as he decried the hypocritical difference in world reaction to the two groups.Speaking about ISIS, Netanyahu noted "dozens of countries are confronting a body that is more or less the size of Hamas.""You certainly see that the Middle East is changing very rapidly. ...States are breaking up and out of the ground and the sand are rising extremist Shi'ite and Sunni organizations that are competing with each other... But they all have one position - that we don't need to be here," said Netanyahu."We know that we have been engaged in the struggle for our existence since the dawn of Zionism, both before and after the establishment of the state," added the prime minister. "One of the great things that we are doing, between (military) campaigns, while extending our hand to those of our neighbors who want peace, is to build up our state."Ironically, Netanyahu has been accused recently of enforcing a covert construction freeze in Judea and Samaria, silently stopping Jewish building projects despite the housing crisis hittin gIsrael.It it worth noting that Netanyahu's approval ratings plummeted in the last campaign, apparently due to a perceived lack of decisive military action against Hamas. Netanyahu's approval went from 82% at the height of the campaign to a paltry 32% after he sealed a ceasefire with the terrorist organization of Hamas.

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