Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich vetoed the convening of the committee that must approve the purchase of two new fighter squadrons at a cost of NIS 35 billion. "The expectation of the security system to receive an open shake in huge amounts is neither legitimate nor realistic," he wrote in a letter to the defense minister.
The security establishment consistently thwarts the establishment of a committee, he said. "We need to be much more independent in the production capacity of the weapons we need," he added.