Netanyahu seeks to raise IDF budget, Lapid conditions support on canceling ‘corrupt’ haredi funds

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested opposition leader Yair Lapid's support to reopen the state budget for increased defense funding. Lapid conditioned his support on canceling "corrupt coalition funds" allocated to "finance haredi draft evasion" instead of raising taxes. Lapid stated, "the IDF needs to be strengthened," but insisted the funds should not come from taxing the middle class and reservists. Netanyahu's Likud party countered that the defense budget could be increased without tax hikes due to higher-than-expected state revenues and that Lapid's claims about coalition funds for the haredi sector were "absurd and false." Lapid's office reiterated its stance, asserting that "the IDF must be given all the tools it needs to complete its missions" but not at the expense of the working public.