Khaled Yousef, Lina Altawell
15 September 2026•Update: 15 September 2026
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has requested a meeting with opposition leader Yair Lapid in an effort to persuade him to support discussions on a budget bill that would allocate large sums to the security establishment, Hebrew media reported Monday.
The move comes amid a financial crisis facing the Israeli army, which the public broadcaster KAN said on Sept. 3 had begun affecting its ability to operate in the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank and Lebanon.
The crisis coincides with a shortage of spare parts and delays in transferring billions of shekels to the defense budget, as well as burdens left by Israeli attacks on Lebanon and Iran, according to KAN.
Israel’s Channel 12 said Netanyahu requested the meeting with Lapid as part of the regular security briefing held between the prime minister and the opposition leader.
Israeli law requires a security briefing between the prime minister and opposition leader at least once a month, according to the channel.
The meeting was expected to take place later Monday, with the rare participation of Israeli Army Deputy Chief of General Staff Tamir Yadai, Channel 7 reported.
Netanyahu seeks to convince Lapid to agree to discuss the budget bill in order to transfer large amounts of money to the Israeli security establishment, it said.
The opposition had rejected such requests in recent days, arguing that the money needed for the security establishment should come from the budgets of the governing coalition, the channel added.
Financial crisis
According to KAN, the army’s original 2026 budget stood around 143 billion shekels ($47 billion).
Netanyahu, however, ordered it to be raised to 183 billion shekels ($60 billion) after Israel’s attacks on Iran and Lebanon.
A first installment of the increase, worth 15 billion shekels ($5 billion), was scheduled to be transferred in August, but KAN said the funds had not been transferred.
The Knesset Finance Committee is expected to discuss transferring only 11 billion shekels ($3.6 billion), it added.
Military sources warned, according to KAN, that the continued funding gap limits the army’s ability to operate in Gaza, the occupied West Bank and Lebanon.
The crisis also affects the army’s preparations for a possible confrontation with Iran, they said.
The sources also warned that failure to transfer the required funds could prevent the army from maintaining the minimum level of operational continuity and troop readiness.
Relations between Netanyahu and Lapid have been tense over several issues.
The opposition also rejects government efforts to pass a law exempting ultra-Orthodox Haredi Jews from military conscription.