The Israeli Ministry of Defense has demanded another increase for its budget today, citing developments in Egypt and other Arab countries as the reason. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu froze the Israeli Ministry of Defense's budget two days ago for a year. Israeli Channel 2 reported that the Ministry of Defense has the largest allocation of Israel's budget. However, the ministry is demanding an increase for the 2013 budget to 63 billion shekels (U.S. $17.8 billion). The ministry's budget is currently 54 billion shekels (U.S. $15.2 billion) and is expected to increase to 55.5 billion shekels (U.S. $15.7 billion) next year. The Ministry of Defense justified the increase by saying it needed to be ready to face the growing threat of Arab countries, particularly after the fall of Hosni Mubarak's regime in Egypt. The Israeli Ministry of Finance did not accept the Ministry of Defense's request, saying the raise would affect other ministry budgets, such as the ministries of education and health.