The Netanyahu government spent more last year on defense than it has since the days of the 1967 Six Day War, according to a report released Monday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
Israeli military expenditures increased by 65 percent last year, reaching a total of $5.7 billion by the end of December 2f024.
But Israel was not the only nation in the region to see a significant jump in defense spending.
Lebanon saw a 58 percent rise in military expenditures, reaching $635 million, and Turkey’s defense budget in 2024 was $25 billion, more than double its 2023 budget of $12 billion.
“Military expenditure in the Middle East reached an estimated $243 billion in 2024, an increase of 15 percent from 2023 and 19 percent more than in 2015,” according to the report.
Ironically, Iran reduced its military budget last year by 10 percent, to just $7.9 billion.
