Last update - 00:00 31/12/2006
NIS 50.6 bn 2007 defense budget okayed in preliminary vote
By Zvi Zrahiya, Haaretz Correspondent
A special Knesset committee approved the 2007 defense budget totaling NIS 50.6 billion on Sunday, with only three out of the ten committee members present at the vote.
Chairman of the special committee for the defense budget MK Tzachi Hanegbi (Kadima) and opposition representative MK Avshalom Vilan (Meretz) voted in favor, while MK Efi Eitam (National Union) voting against the proposal.
Under the budget proposal the state would provide NIS 34.7 billion, while NIS 2.43 would depend on projected defense establishment revenue and the remainder would be obtained from United States foreign aid.
At the Sunday meeting, Eitam demanded that the defense budget be increased, while Vilan said the army must cut costs to avoid further slashes to the education and health budgets.
Last week the committee rejected a proposal to increase the budget by an additional NIS 5 billion.