Defense Ministry's budget cut by NIS 2.7 billion

         The cabinet overwhelmingly approved on Friday the State Budget for 2011 and 2012. Twenty ministers voted in favor of the budget, while only five opposed it. Four ministers abstained, and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who is currently abroad, did not vote. Likud and Labor ministers (apart from Welfare Minister Isaac Herzog) supported the budget, while all of Yisrael Beiteinu's ministers voted against the budget. Herzog and ministers from the Shas party abstained. The budget's approval results in a decrease of NIS 2.7 billion ($700 million) from the Defense Ministry's budget over the next two years, close to the originally planned cut of NIS 3 billion ($780 million). The 2011-2012 budget will increase at an annual rate of 2.7% and will stand at NIS 271 billion ($70 billion) in its second year. "In the last decade, the Israeli economy was faced with two crises: a local one and an international one. We came out of both because we had an economic policy with vision. The budget we compiled today is a responsible and balanced budget that grants stability to the Israeli economy for the next two years," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the beginning of the cabinet meeting. "The public in every country pays for going over the budget and unchecked spending," said the PM. "It may not be clear when a government goes over the budget, but we see what happened in some European countries. We can't let such irresponsibility happen in Israel. "Naturally, we can't meet every need, even though many are legitimate and important, but a leader's job is to weigh priorities and make decisions," he added. The Kadima party, which heads the opposition, said the approved budget is "a complete public deceit. The most overblown and wasteful government in the history of the State has produced a budget that lacks policy and vision." Kadima slammed the Labor ministers, saying they proved that "they have no shame, and securing their seats is more important to them than the promises they made to their voters." (15,41)