Israeli ministers approved a budget adjustment that will divert NIS 964 million from future allocations for Arab community development to help finance 12 Apache attack helicopters for the Israeli Air Force. The cuts are planned for 2027 through 2029. The order still needs final procurement approval.
A WhatsApp vote for military spending
Ynetnews reported that ministers approved approximately NIS 1 billion for the defense budget through a WhatsApp vote on Wednesday morning. The money was set aside for the urgent helicopter purchase. Of the total, NIS 169 million is due to come from Arab community development allocations in 2027, NIS 342 million in 2028 and NIS 453 million in 2029, for a total of NIS 964 million.
Another NIS 68 million went to the Defense Ministry for 2026, drawn from funds originally reserved for government interest payments and fees. Together, the adjustments total approximately NIS 1.03 billion. Ministers were told the money would cover “urgent defense procurement that cannot be delayed.” Defense Ministry officials called the purchase an immediate security priority, and Defense Minister Israel Katz backed the move.
The decision puts a military procurement demand ahead of planned funding for Arab communities. The government’s own figures spell out the trade: hundreds of millions of shekels in future development allocations will go elsewhere, while defense agencies receive money to revive a helicopter order. The cuts form part of two planned budget reductions totaling 3.63 billion shekels, including 2.6 billion shekels for an urgent defense need.
A funding dispute, then a rescue
The procurement fight had already stalled. The previous week, a roughly $1 billion agreement with U.S. aerospace giant Boeing to buy 12 Apache helicopters fell through after the Finance and Defense ministries failed to agree on how to finance approximately $288 million of the cost. The final deadline to place the order passed the previous week, following repeated extensions by the U.S. administration.
Earlier this week, defense officials said the emergency cuts had nothing to do with the Apache deal and accused the Finance Ministry of misrepresenting the funding dispute. On Wednesday, those officials acknowledged that the budget adjustment was meant to rescue the purchase and allow Israel to proceed with ordering the helicopters despite the expired deadline. The public explanation shifted. The money still turned up.
Officials said the remaining funds needed to complete the transaction would come from postponing payments on other future defense contracts. They called that arrangement a technical accounting measure the Finance Ministry required before the agreement could be signed. The order still requires final procurement approval.
More approvals still in the queue
The accelerated procurement and revised payment schedule received preliminary approval in August 2026, but still needed an amended government decision and final authorization from the ministerial committee responsible for defense procurement. The Knesset’s joint committee overseeing the defense budget was expected to approve a separate NIS 17.5 billion transfer to the defense establishment the following week, after the Finance Committee had approved it.
The Finance Ministry’s legal adviser said defense officials warned that delaying procurement could undermine Israel’s defense response. That warning helped cast the allocation as urgent, even as the planned reductions identify the communities whose future development funds will be cut. In this account, government machinery moves money through ministries and committees; Arab community allocations become a source for military purchasing. The helicopter order still awaits approval, but the budget shift is spelled out in figures.