Israel's budget for the year 2014 includes at least $2.9 billion for a possible attack on Iran, Haaretz revealed Wednesday.

Reporter Barak Ravid explains:

Three Knesset members who were present at Knesset joint committee hearings on Israel Defense Forces plans that were held in January and February say they learned during the hearings that 10 billion shekels to 12 billion shekels of the defense budget would be allocated this year for preparations for a strike on Iran, approximately the same amount that was allocated in 2013.

According to Ravid's sources, representatives of the Israeli Army said they had received orders from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon to prepare for a potential unilateral attack on Iran despite ongoing peace talks between Iran and the P5+1 group of Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States, and Germany.

The amount set aside in the 2014 budget is comparable to that set aside in 2013. Writing for AntiWar.com, Jason Ditz says this suggests that the "government is using the perennial threat of launching a unilateral war as a way to throw billions of realistically unallocated funds at the IDF without parliamentary oversight."

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