Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman delivered a stark message to the Knesset on Monday, cautioning that Israel has no more than three years before another, more severe confrontation with Iran is likely. He pressed the government to overhaul the national budget and mandate that defense expenditures be set at 8 percent of the country’s GDP.
Addressing lawmakers from the Knesset podium and later at his party’s weekly meeting, the former defense minister asserted that Iran is actively seeking retaliation for the recent direct conflict with Israel and is already making headway in restoring its nuclear capabilities. “These are not theoretical threats,” he said. “The next stage will be more complex and more difficult.”
He slammed the current budget process as reckless and said defense funding should not be entangled in political deal-making. “The defense budget must never become a bargaining chip,” he said. Lieberman suggested passing a law to permanently peg defense spending at 8 percent of GDP, insulating it from future coalition bargaining.
Shifting to Israel’s policy on Gaza, Lieberman accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration of helping Hamas stay afloat by approving daily shipments of aid.
“Hamas is alive, breathing and kicking only because the ‘October 7 government’ is pumping medicine, fuel and food into Gaza,” he told reporters. He added that reservists escorting these convoys feel endangered and are limited to firing warning shots, leaving them vulnerable.
He further claimed that reserve soldiers from engineering units were being forced to demolish structures manually due to the absence of heavy equipment and proper armored vehicles. Meanwhile, he said, hundreds of millions of shekels in humanitarian assistance are being funneled into Gaza, funded by Israeli taxpayers.
Lieberman pushed the government to negotiate a deal to free the 120 hostages still being held by Hamas. “If the military pressure has run its course, what are we still doing there?” he asked.
Once the captives return, Lieberman suggested Israel take a page from its approach to Lebanon, pointing to the targeted killings of approximately 200 Hezbollah members by the IDF since November’s ceasefire in the north. “We will hunt down every terrorist who took part in the October 7 massacre until his last day,” he vowed.
The longtime parliamentarian demanded that the government overhaul its entire list of national priorities in anticipation of an eventual clash with Iran. His comments come as the coalition remains divided over the upcoming 2026 budget and as discussions intensify regarding Gaza aid expenditures.
Lieberman acknowledged that his call to revisit the national budget is politically risky and unlikely to win favor among coalition partners. Still, he warned that postponing action would leave the country vulnerable. “Iran’s nuclear program was hit hard,” he admitted, “but it was not destroyed and can be rebuilt. That is what the regime is working on with all its might.”
{Matzav.com Israel}