MK Hanegbi to oppose proposed cuts to the defense budget

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Tzahi Hanegbi strongly opposes budget cuts to the Defense Ministry. In an interview with Israel Radio Sunday morning, Hanegbi said that the next year would be a year of confrontation, possibly on more than one front, and therefore, cutting the army's budget would not be a good idea. He added that for years, cuts had been made to the defense budget out of indifference or recklessness and that the government must not cross the red line and dismiss previous decisions it had made regarding the defense budget. Welfare and Social Services Minister Isaac Herzog said in an interview with the radio station that the presentation of alternate budget proposals focusing on defense and social welfare respectively was a cynical act, unnecessary and wrong. He said that the Treasury would do well to shelve the two proposals and to come up with something new and more diverse. Herzog announced that Labor ministers would convene Sunday morning to discuss their position and would present to the government alternatives to the budget cuts.