Speaking to Labor faction members on Monday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak stated that with the current threats facing Israel, from Iran, Syria, Hizbullah and Hamas, there is no room for talk of cutting defense spending in the 2009 state budget.

Labor is calling to postpone next week’s planned budget vote until following the political process in Kadima, the September primary elections.

Barak has been issuing statements that planned cuts in defense spending are a non-starter, stressing that two years following the Second Lebanon War the threats from Israel’s northern border are greater than ever, not a time to consider major cuts in the defense budget. Barak vows to fight any attempt to cut the military’s operating budget, stating such a move would be irresponsible and have a disastrous effect based on current realities.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)