After the Knesset approved the new budget for 2023-2024, specific attributes of that budget, including the various defense and security portions of the allocation, have been cleared for publication. According to the release, the budget of the Mossad is expected to increase in the coming years by approximately 3.9 billion NIS, which is an increase of approximately 37% compared to the 2022 budget.
In the allocations to defense within the budget, there is a mysterious portion, labeled as section 31 and defined as "Miscellaneous Defense Expenses". It is thought that this section mainly represents Mossad’s budget. In 2022, the budget for this section was 10.5 billion NIS, in 2023 it is expected to be 13.74 billion NIS, and in 2024 14.36 billion NIS.
This is the budget section with the largest increase, but for obvious reasons, section 31 does not receive further detail in the budget book, and certainly, the reasons for the increase are confidential. However, according to the publications, since David Barnea assumed the position of head of Mossad, a structural change has been made in the organization, which includes investment in the cyber and technology departments, which was apparently done as part of the fight against the Iranian nuclear program.
State budget passes first Knesset plenum reading; Gallant skips vote | The Times of Israel https://t.co/hz3amQGjK4
— edna (@edna38458664) March 28, 2023
Besides the increase in Mossad's budget, public spending on the general Israeli defense system is also expected to increase significantly. The entire defense budget is expected to increase from 110.2 billion NIS in 2022 to 125.1 billion NIS in 2024.
The increase in the defense budget is not surprising, especially not in a year of relatively high inflation rates, but this year it is an unusual increase that marks a reversal to the trend of defense spending that Israel has seen in the past few years. The increase was explained, according to the Ministry of Finance as being attached to Israel's overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In a written statement, the ministry said: "In light of the additions to the defense budget in 2023-2024, it is possible that the downward trend of the defense budget as a percentile of GDP will be curbed."
Prime Minister Netanyahu:
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) February 23, 2023
"This is an important achievement for the security of Israel the economy, a multi-year plan that will strengthen the IDF and ensure its stability and strength. I commend the Finance Minister, the Defense Minister, the IDF Chief-of-Staff and their teams."
The sharpest rate of increase is in section 31, but the largest monetary increase in the budget is actually in the budget for the Ministry of Defense, specifically, the budget for the Israel Defense Forces. The military will receive an increase of over 8.2 billion NIS in 2024 compared to 2022. This increase reflects an average increase of approximately 5% per year, but here too there is a matter that must be considered, it turns out that the treasury allocated another 3.5 billion NIS to the IDF only for 2023 and 2 billion NIS for operational projects and another billion NIS to implement the agreements between the IDF and the treasury regarding the shortening of mandatory conscription service among other changes in the personnel structure. In total, the IDF budget for 2023 may actiually reach 86 billion NIS.
