Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, has approved the state budget for the 2026 fiscal year, allocating a record amount to the defense sector. The budget, totaling 850.6 billion shekels (around 271 billion dollars), passed early Monday by a vote of 62 to 55, according to The Times of Israel. The Defense Ministry will receive approximately 458 billion shekels, marking the largest defense allocation in the country’s history. Passing the budget before the Tuesday deadline also prevented an automatic early election that would have been triggered by a delay.

Following the approval, opposition leader Yair Lapid sharply criticized the budget, calling it “the biggest theft in the country’s history.” In a post on social media platform X, he accused the government of taking money from reservists and hardworking citizens and handing it to corrupt individuals and those avoiding military service.

The record defense spending and the opposition’s strong reaction highlight deep political divisions over fiscal priorities and governance in Israel.