The national budget that Israel passed for the 2023-24 fiscal year is "no longer relevant," according to Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
He said that their budget plan will be revised because of the Gaza war. However, although the credit rating agency S&P Global Israel downgraded its outlook from 'stable' to 'negative', Reuters reported that the finance minister did not seem too unprepared.
This war is costing Israel about 100 million Shekels or 24.6 million US dollars directly every day. However, the exact amount of money being spent indirectly has not yet been calculated, said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. Israel's economy is partially crippled by massive military mobilization and daily Palestinian rocket attacks.
Bezalel Smotrich likens S&P Global downgrading Israel's forecast to 'stable' to 'fear-mongering'. He said, that despite the ongoing crisis, he does not think there will be any major deficit in Israel's economy.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich praised Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron for going 'beyond the limits'. There was talk that the central bank governor would leave his post earlier, but due to the crisis, he has decided to stay for the time being. However, the finance minister did not say anything about whether Yaron will be officially retained in his post.
Bezalel Smotrich said, "We don't even have time to breathe, so we won't talk about this (question) now.
