PNN – According to the latest report submitted by the Israeli Ministry of War, since the start of the war on October 7, 2023, $57 billion has been spent on militarism and Netanyahu’s endless wars in the West Asia region.
According to the report of Pakistan News Network, according to the latest report presented by the Israeli Ministry of War, $57 billion has been spent on military spending since the start of the war on October 7, 2023. Importantly, the $57 billion spent on military affairs in the past 22 months does not include annual US aid. But that is not the end of the matter, and recently, after the ceasefire with Iran, the regime’s military requested an additional $12 billion to be added to the military budget for this year and 2026.
This money is intended to cover part of the expenses of the Israeli army’s two military operations this year in the Gaza Strip and Iran. Accordingly, the Israeli military budget in 2025 will reach 41.58 billion, which is about 7 percent of the regime’s domestic product. Currently, the Ministry of Finance, which approved the payment of the latest amount, has claimed that the increase will not have much impact on the GDP deficit rate, adding only perhaps half a percentage point to this year’s 5 percent deficit.
According to estimates by the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture, the damage caused by the current drought, which is unprecedented in the last hundred years, is estimated at about $15 million so far, and if there is no rain in the months of October-December, it could even increase to about $44.5 million. In other words, when the Netanyahu government approved the 2025 budget, even though it was clear that Israel was in a severe drought, it decided to ignore this issue and has not yet identified any funding sources to address this situation. This is despite the fact that in recent months, various budget amendments have been made for the needs of the ruling coalition, including the budget of the Haredi parties and military needs.
The lack of attention to the needs of the agricultural sector is due to a lack of financial resources. Currently, security concerns in Israel and the belligerent policies of the Netanyahu cabinet have led to a large portion of the annual budget being spent on military operations, with no end in sight. After 22 months since the start of the Gaza War, Netanyahu still has no idea for the “day after” the end of the Gaza War and opposes all plans for a ceasefire and an end to the war in this strip. Meanwhile, every now and then we witness expansionist plans to seize and escalate the fighting in Gaza being publicized, which, while imposing many hardships on the Palestinians, devours the Israeli government budget and prevents it from addressing other civilian matters. The victims of this situation are the residents of the occupied territories. As mentioned, in the agricultural sector, farmers are now facing great losses without receiving government support.
Another area that suffers from a severe budget shortage is the education sector. According to a report by Israel Hume, the education system in the occupied territories faces a severe shortage of kindergartens and classrooms, and many schools have “no room to grow,” forcing students to be placed in small classes. Thousands of students in Israel are starting the school year in mobile buildings, shelters, caravans, and sometimes even warehouses that have been converted into classrooms. This is not just an infrastructure problem, it is an educational crisis.
Data obtained by the Zionist publication Israel Hume shows that the shortage will be worsened by war and labor shortages, which will result in classrooms not being built at the required speed. Data from the Building Contractors Association shows that construction starts for various public buildings, including kindergartens and schools, have fallen by 42 percent since the start of the war. Meanwhile, the Building Contractors Association has said the government continues to ignore calls to open the gates to foreign workers.
It should be noted that following the outbreak of the war on October 7, 2023, more than 100,000 foreign and Palestinian workers left their workplaces. Foreign workers left the occupied territories due to fear of instability and security concerns, and to this day, despite some efforts, a large portion of these forces have refused to return to their workplaces in the occupied territories. On the other hand, Netanyahu’s cabinet no longer allows permits for Palestinian workers, most of whom come from the West Bank. The result is a severe slowdown in construction, which has led in part to a shortage of classrooms and in part to a shortage of apartments, leading to rising rents and housing prices. The important point is that the government did not provide assistance in this area either, and the financial burden of covering these losses and shortages has effectively fallen on the people.