The new Israeli defense budget expected to be approved by the Knesset this month as part of the national budget vote will enable Israel to develop new tools, operational plans and technologies to take on “all threats we face,” said Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz on Tuesday.
Speaking during a cornerstone-laying ceremony for Elbit System’s new technological campus at Ramat Beka in the Negev Desert, he noted that the construction is “an expression of our worldview regarding the [Israel Defense Forces’] technological upgrade and the defense industries. The developments being produced by Israeli industries assist the IDF in becoming more accurate, powerful and lethal.”
He added that “this power is especially necessary during these days when our enemies, under Iranian leadership, are trying to grow stronger and to harm regional stability.”
“Alongside a partnership with all of our friends—foremost among them the United States—we will invest through, among others, the defense budget that will pass in the Knesset in the coming days,” said Gantz.
The defense minister noted that similar to his time as IDF chief of staff when Israel’s military prepared to deal with the Iranian nuclear threat, “we are committed to safeguarding a strong, stable, fortified Israel and ensure that Iran does not develop an existential threat to Israel. We will continue to act with responsibility and to safeguard our independence of action in any place and sector, and secure Israeli citizens.”
