Israeli Defense: Don't Expect a Quiet Year

JERUSALEM, Israel -- Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon warned Israelis not to expect a quiet year in light of the regional situation.

Ya'alon's remarks followed an official report issued Monday on the costs of Operation Protective Edge, Israel's 50-day military response to Hamas rocket fire.

Speaking with journalists from the Defense Ministry's Tel Aviv headquarters, Ya'alon said Israel is keeping close tabs on Lebanon and Syria on its northern border, Islamist groups in the Gaza Strip, and the terror-sponsoring Islamic Republic of Iran.

The defense minister said ISIS does not pose an imminent threat to Israel or Jordan, despite its prominence in Iraq and Syria and on the world stage.

Meanwhile, Monday's report put the cost of the summer operation at $1.8 billion, providing a backdrop for the defense and military establishment's request for $2.5 billion in the next fiscal budget.

"Security costs money," Ya'alon told participants at Tel Aviv University's International Cybersecurity Conference. "There are no cheap wars. In recent years, the defense budget has been greatly eroded for political reasons. This is not a question of extra defense funds."

Ya'alon said the components of the summer operation, like the Iron Dome batteries and intelligence gathering paraphernalia, cost billions of shekels.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said Israel's security situation requires cutting-edge military abilities.

"Any responsible leader facing the type of intensifying threats that are around us would allow and demand a significant increase in the defense budget," Netanyahu said.

"In light of the reality and the defense challenges accumulating around us, this is what we will do -- a significant increase in the many billions," he said.

Finance Minister Yair Lapid and Netanyahu appear to be smoothing out their differences on the 2015 budget, which includes additional funding needed for defense.