BREAKING NEWS

Ya'alon assails report calling for massive cuts in defense budget

Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon described the Locker Commission's findings as "shallow, extremely unbalanced, and completely disconnected from the reality inside Israel around it."
The report, he said, "if implemented, will be a gamble on the security of Israeli citizens. The idea of shortening service to two years is the result of a total misunderstanding of the military," he added, in scathing criticism.
Ya'alon offered his full backing to the IDF's Gideon multi-year program as the correct way to deal with threats and challenges facing Israel. He said the Gideon program is "effective, balanced, and responsible. It is the one that should be adopted."
Ya'alon added that "those who want to successfully deal, as we have don until now, with ISIS, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, and dozens of relentless terrorist organizations armed with advanced weapons, can't let themselves settle for a mediocre military with mediocre people. Unfortunately, the Locker report leads the state of Israel and its citizens to that place."
The report's recommendation are incompatible with threats facing Israel, which have not decreased, but only changed, Ya'alon said.