Itamar Ben-Gvir, the National Security Minister, has secured funding for his department to build 936 new prison beds over a three-year period. The total funding for the program will amount to 536 million shekels.
The Marker reported on this development, which was met with controversy among many cabinet members. Treasury officials had insisted that the funds be sourced from Ben-Gvir’s department budget. However, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich had proposed sequestering the budgets of all ministries about two weeks ago, sparking outrage among many cabinet members. After intense negotiations, a compromise decision was reached.
Half of the program will be financed through the sequester, while the other half will come from the Defense Department budget. This means that the Department of Homeland Security will need to cover the costs of 225 new jobs in the Bureau of Prisons from its own budget after discussions and compromises were made to secure necessary funding for prison bed construction.