Treasury, Defense clash over budget request, as Peretz goes on defensive

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Gee, who could have predicted this?

The Defense Ministry is demanding NIS 10.2 billion to cover the cost of its recent 34-day war in Lebanon and another NIS 10 billion for improving military preparedness.

"We paid for the money that was saved over the past six years in the defense budget - NIS 17 billion - and we continue to pay over and over," said a senior defense official after yesterday's meeting on the budget, held at the Prime Minister's Office.

The defense establishment also seeks to raise its basic budget from NIS 33.5 billion in 2006 to NIS 36.5 billion for 2007, and achieve a NIS 9 billion hike for the period 2007-9. Including American aid, the 2007 total would reach an all-time high of NIS 49 billion.

At the end of yesterday's meeting, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced a joint finance-defense team that would submit a report to him by week's end with an estimate of the Israel Defense Force's expenses in Lebanon last month with the aim of restoring this sum to defense coffers. Likewise, it was agreed that the subject of the basic defense budget for 2007 would be resolved.

Haaretz