National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir did not attend the government's budget meeting on Thursday. Four hours after it began, he appeared with an entourage in tow at the office of the Cabinet Secretariat while his colleagues were still engaged in the budget meeting.
In a private conversation, Ben-Gvir said of the budget meeting attendees: "They have an aggressive policy of not giving anything. They just want to save and save [some more]." According to him, "the amounts that they are suggesting are ridiculous. I did not come to the government for that."
Ben-Gvir constitutes one of the obstacles on the path to approving a budget in light of his demand for NIS 14 billion for his ministry in order to bolster the Israel police force.