Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Wednesday that Israel’s current budget “is no longer appropriate” due to the Gaza war and will be adjusted.
In an interview with Army Radio, Smotrich explained that he had not yet assessed the indirect costs on the economy, which has entered a state of partial paralysis due to the mass mobilization of reserve soldiers and intensified Palestinian rocket attacks. He estimated the direct cost of the war at one billion shekels ($250 million) per day.
Smotrich described Standard & Poor’s lowering expectations to “negative” from “stable” yesterday, Tuesday, as “worrying,” but said he did not expect it to create a large deficit in Israel despite the crisis.
Under the general budget law in Israel, the value of the state budget is 484 billion shekels ($132 billion) in 2023, and 514 billion shekels ($140 billion) in 2024.
During the interview, the Minister of Finance expressed his concern about the downgrading of Israel’s outlook by Standard & Poor’s For credit ratingHowever, he does not expect a large deficit to appear in the current year’s budget.
Smotrich praised Amir Yaron, governor of the Central Bank of Israel, because he “spares no effort in his work.” Yaron was scheduled to step down, but he extended his term due to the crisis. But Smotrich did not answer whether Yaron should officially remain in his position or not. “There is no time to breathe, so we will not deal with this (question) now,” he said.
For the 19th day, the Israeli army continues to launch intensive raids on the Gaza Strip, which led to the destruction of entire neighborhoods. As a result, more than 6,055 Palestinians were martyred, including about 2,400 children, 1,300 women, and more than 300 elderly people, and 16,297 people were injured, according to the Ministry of Health in the Strip.
At dawn on October 7, the Palestinian resistance was launched, led by… Al-Qassam Brigades practical “Al-Aqsa flood“In response to the continuing attacks by Israeli forces and settlers against the Palestinian people, their property and holy sites, especially Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem.
It is noteworthy that Smotrich – who is the head of the extremist “Religious Zionism” party – had called at the end of last February for the eradication of the Palestinian village of Huwwara in the West Bank, after unprecedented attacks launched by settlers on the town, which resulted in the martyrdom of Palestinians, the injury of dozens of others, and the burning and destruction. Dozens of houses and cars.
