“Israel”: Cabinet Approves 2-Year Budget, Including $2.4 Billion Boost for Ben Gvir

By Staff, Agencies

The “Israeli” cabinet voted to approve a two-year budget for 2023 and 2024, readying it for a Knesset vote that is expected to shore up the entity's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hardline government for the next two years.

The budget for 2023 will stand $131.3 billion — an $8.55 billion increase from last year — before climbing to 139.5 billion in 2024.

One of the budget’s biggest beneficiaries was the so-called "National Security" Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, whose office is set to receive a $2.44 billion boost.

He had originally demanded a $3.8 billion bump and boycotted a meeting on the matter earlier this week as negotiations hit a blip.

The extra money will be used to recruit thousands of additional police officers, over 1,200 new prison guards and hundreds of firefighters. It will also allow a pay raise for “Israeli” police officers and prison guards in the coming year, in addition to the establishment of a national guard.

Not present for Friday’s vote was Tourism Minister Haim Katz, who boycotted it in protest of the government’s plan to end the VAT tax exemption for tourists.