Knesset budget passes

BY ADAM MOSES

The Knesset passed the government’s budget legislation for the next two years by a majority 64-56 votes in the early hours of Wednesday.

The budget for 2023 is 484 billion shekels (£105bn), in 2024 it is a record 514 billion shekel (£112bn).

Prime Minister Bejamin’s Netanyahu’s coalition backed proposals guaranteeing a comfortable majority. There had been speculation that compromise would not be reached triggering new elections. But Netanyahu’s Likud Party held negotiations with Jewish Power and United Torah Judaism to ensure the budget passed.

Jewish Power received funds for the Negev, Galilee and National Resilience Ministry’s budget.

After an eventful parliamentary session, Netanyahu welcomed the news.

He said: “We are passing a responsible, excellent budget that will faithfully serve the citizens of Israel and lead to an improvement in their quality of life.” He added: “The budget promotes great revolutions in personal safety, education, transportation and in the fight against the cost of living.”

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich noted: “Passing a budget will allow us stability in government. The Israeli economy is strong. It is one of the best and most stable in the world.”

Netanyahu was heckled at times by opposition members, labelling him a “dictator”.

Thousands of demonstrators, meantime, protested outside the Knesset about the budget and proposed judicial reforms.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid blasted the budget. He wrote on Twitter: “While you were sleeping, the worst and most destructive budget in the country’s history was passed. This budget is a violation of the contract with Israel’s citizens, which all of us, and our children and our children’s children, will pay for.”

National Unity Party Benny Gantz also criticised the budget.

He said: “The cost of living is rising and the coalition has not introduced a single serious reform to deal with it. People are sitting in traffic jams and the coalition has nothing to say about national infrastructure. People are being murdered in the streets in huge numbers and are afraid to leave their homes and the coalition is busy talking about budgets and jobs that have no bearing on reality. Netanyahu, the responsibility is on you.”

Whilst the budget passed to the coalition’s relief, cost of living and judiciary issues are set to dominate discontent among large sections of Israeli society for some time.