Beyond any real security need, the demand to inflate the defense budget serves political interests by avoiding diplomatic options. A budget hike functions less as a response to threats and more as a tool to preserve power and entrench a failed strategic status quo
The dramatic defense budget increment the prime minister is looking to obtain, the possibility that American aid will be slashed and the absence of an effective draft law could cost Israel’s state treasury 600 billion shekels ($194 billion) over the next decade, Haaretz’s Sami Peretz estimates.