JERUSALEM — Israel has ordered an emergency allocation of hundreds
of millions of dollars to replenish the military's supply of munitions.
In all, the Defense Ministry is requesting $2.2 billion in emergency funding over the next year.
Officials said the Finance Ministry has approved an allocation of more
than $300 million for the procurement of air and ground munitions from
Israel and the United States. They said the priority was to restore the air
force's arsenal of precision guided munitions.
"We are already submitting orders and obtaining deliveries of a range of
munitions," an official said.
On Tuesday, Finance Minister Avrahram Hirschson told a news conference
that he has allocated 3.5 billion shekels [$803 million] for munitions as
well as aid for northern communities damaged during the Hizbullah war with
Israel. Hirschson did not detail the budget, but officials said this was the
first installment of a huge increase in the military budget over the next
two years.
The military has asked for an additional 10 billion shekels, or $2.3
billion, over the next year in emergency aid. The Defense Ministry has an
annual budget of $7.4 billion, with an additional $2.2 billion in U.S.
military aid. In August, Maj. Gen. Yitzhak Harel, head of the Planning
Division, said the military's budget was 22 billion shekels, or more than $5
billion.
"We have to place the demands of the military in proportion," Hirschson
said.
Officials said the air force was hardest hit by the shortage of
munitions. They said that within two weeks of the war the air force depleted
its arsenal of Joint Direct Attack Munitions, a system manufactured by
Boeing that converts standard air bombs into precision-guided munitions.
"Once we ran out of JDAMs, the air force was just dropping dumb bombs,"
an official said.
The military also plans to order weapons from Israeli companies. The
state-owned Rafael, Israel Armament Development Authority has been
developing bunker-busting air weapons.
Israel Military Industries and Israel Aircraft Industries were also
expected to receive orders for air- and ground-based munitions. Over the
last five years, IMI sustained a sharp drop in military orders as Israel
increasingly turned to the United States for air and ground weaponry.
Since July, the United States has airlifted JDAMs and GBU-28
bunker-busting weapons to Israel, officials said. They said Israel has also
used cargo planes from the state-owned airlines El Al to transport weaponry
from the United States.
Officials said European Union countries, including Britain, Germany,
Italy, Portugal and Spain, have refused to allow Israeli cargo planes to
land for refueling. They said this has resulted in the transport of smaller
weapons loads for direct flights from the United States to Israel.
At the news conference, Hirschson said the military would become a
priority in the revised 2007 budget. He said the Finance Ministry would
establish a panel to reform military spending and ensure transparency.
"We won't give the military an open check," Hirschson said. "The public
has to know that there is accountability in the defense establishment."
