Israel: after three years of deadlock, government reaches agreement on budget

Finally an agreement.

The Israeli government approved the state budget early Monday morning, a first in three years.

“Finally, Israel has a budget.

After three years of stagnation, Israel is getting back to work, ”Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said after the vote within his governing coalition.

יש תקציב בישראל! 🇮🇱

לאחר שלוש שנים של קיפאון, שהמדינה היתה בהתפרקות, ישראל חוזרת לעבוד.

כפי שהבטחנו - זהו תקציב של ממשלה שאכפת לה.

**

אנחנו מביאים הבוקר את התקציב הכי נועז, הכי תחרותי, הכי מסייע לשכבות החלשות והכי דואג לעתיד ילדינו מזה שנים >> pic.twitter.com/eU9CLnE8Q3

- Naftali Bennett בנט (@naftalibennett) August 2, 2021

"The state budget for 2021 will be around 432.5 billion shekels (or about 113 billion euros) and about 452.5 billion shekels for 2022 (about 118 billion euros)", for its part said the Ministry of Finance in a press release.

Due to a long political crisis, which led to the holding of four elections, no budget had been voted in Israel since 2018.

Passage required in Parliament

Approved by the new ruling coalition government, the budget must be submitted to a vote in parliament, the Knesset, in the coming weeks, where it must obtain the support of a majority of at least 61 deputies.

Without elected officials' approval of the budget, the Knesset will dissolve and new parliamentary elections will be called 90 days later.

Read alsoIn Israel, an endless political crisis

In December, the Knesset was dissolved due to MPs' inability to agree on a budget, leading to a fourth ballot.

Israel has since had a new government, led by right-wing nationalist leader Naftali Bennett, who has allied with centrist Yair Lapid in a coalition that ended 12 years of uninterrupted rule. by Benjamin Netanyahu.

This motley alliance, which goes from right to left, through the support of an Arab party, is made up of 61 deputies, the threshold of the majority in the Knesset (120 deputies).

According to Naftali Bennett, the budget includes key investments in education, defense, the environment, public transport and high technology.