Finance
Israel Finance Minister Commits to Cutbacks to Help Fund War
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said higher war spending would be financed through budget cutbacks and increased revenues rather than a wider deficit, the outline of a long-delayed fiscal plan.
The target fiscal gap for 2025 will be reduced to 4% of gross domestic product, requiring budgetary adjustments of at least 35 billion shekels ($9.5 billion), Smotrich said at a press conference in Jerusalem Tuesday. He declined to elaborate, saying he still needs to present his plans to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other ministers.