The defence budget will rise by more than US$10 billion to more than US$45 billion — more than double the 2023 allocation before the Gaza war unleashed by Hamas’s attack on Israel that year.

Defence spending has risen steadily ever since.

The overall budget is around US$245 billion.

If a budget is not passed by the end of March, as required by Israeli law, it will automatically trigger the fall of the government and new elections.

In addition to fighting the new war against Iran with its US ally since Feb 28, Israel is also battling in southern Lebanon against the Iran-backed Islamist movement Hezbollah.

The Israeli press reported on March 15 that the government had approved an advance of US$827 million for emergency military purchases related to the ongoing war.

The surge in defence spending will lead to a three-percent cut across all other ministries.

However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, reliant on the support of its ultra-Orthodox and settler allies for its survival, has approved a significant increase in funds earmarked exclusively for them.

Ultra-Orthodox parties will receive more than US$750 million in additional budget funds for private schools they control.

In addition, despite the sweeping cuts imposed on all civilian budgets, funding for the settlements has remained unchanged, according to a report by the anti-settlement group Peace Now.

The Peace Now report denounced the measure as “daylight robbery of public funds” for the benefit of a small group within the government’s base.

On Dec 4, the government adopted a decision to invest more than US$875 million over the next five years in developing settlements in the occupied West Bank, which are illegal under international law.