The Trajtenberg Report has been effectively buried, Knesset ForeignAffairs and Defense Committee chairman Shaul Mofaz (Kadima) said after hiscommittee and the Knesset Finance Committee authorized a NIS 1.67 billionaddition to the defense budget on Monday.
Most of the additional funds were redirected from budgetary surpluses ofother government offices, such as the Welfare Ministry and Immigrant AbsorptionMinistry.
All coalition MKs voted for the increase, while Mofaz and MK MeirSheetrit (Kadima) opposed, hours after the government approved it with sixministers voting against the addition.
According to Mofaz, this is the first time the joint committee on thedefense budget was asked to approve such a large sum so close to the December31 deadline.