After a long period in which the State of Israel has not passed a budget, and after the previous government disbanded for this reason, this week the state budget will reach the last line - approval in the second and third readings in the Knesset.
This is a fateful vote not only in the economic aspect of transferring a budget to the state but also in the political aspect, because if the state budget does not pass - the government falls.
Prime Minister Bennett in forming the coalition in Modi'in
The tension in the coalition is great, as one MK is enough not to vote with the coalition to overthrow the government.
This is because MK Amichai Shikli on the right intends to vote against the budget, and thus the balance of power leading up to the vote on the budget will be 61 fingers in favor of the budget and 59 against.
the weakest link
Those who are perceived as the weakest link in terms of the government are the people of RAAM - a party composed of various forces, some of which have their own interests. The coalition is not one hundred percent sure that there will be no last-minute problems with RAAM.
Accordingly, the government is preparing a response to a scenario in which one of the members of RAAM "Ibriz" from the coalition discipline, and conducting a quiet dialogue with the members of the joint list, also a party with splits, so that they will be absent if necessary.
In any case, the eyes will be on the Knesset, where discussions on the Arrangements Law and the state budget will begin on Tuesday morning.
The coalition hopes to finish voting by the weekend.
In recent days, the coalition has been working on "maintaining" the members, with the intention of creating uniform discipline and checking that no Knesset member can "breeze" them at the last minute.
Coalition chairman Idit Silman last week held talks with many Knesset members among the coalition partners to ensure everyone's vote.
Coalition leaders at the formation event, Photo: Elad Gutman
The opposition hopes to find someone to vote against the coalition even though the chances are slim, and hopes to make a human mistake right at the moment of truth.
The opposition intends to exhaust the coalition in long speeches into the night, thus making the coalition members tired, confused and wrong.
Either way, the government is determined to pass the budget.
In the last two weeks, Bennett has asked all government partners to calm the personal or ideological debates between the parties until the budget is passed.
Thus, for example, Bennett himself refrained from addressing the issue of the "Netanyahu Law" promoted by Gideon Saar, even though his faction member, Ayelet Shaked, opposes it, until after the budget was passed.
The embarrassing recordings published last week on Channel 12, in which Shaked is heard attacking Lapid and Gantz, and Bennett's assessment that the rotation will not materialize, were also addressed by Lapid - who claimed that these were attempts to prevent the budget transfer.
On Friday, Lapid published a Facebook post, in which he wrote: "We have a goal. We will not be moved from it. Not in leaks and slanders, not in secret recordings, not in attempts to quarrel. Years of neglect. "
Discussion in the Finance Committee on the budget at the beginning of the month, Photo: Noam Moskowitz / Knesset Spokeswoman
In any case, against the background of the cracks and frictions, the coalition members met on Friday for a day of formation in the "Ahuza" hall in Modi'in.
Absent from the incident were members of the RAAM party whose members mentioned the massacre in Kafr Qassem, and Minister Nitzan Horowitz who is visiting Germany.
The attention was stolen by Lapid and Shaked, who appeared to be getting along after the recordings in question.
Naftali Bennett told those present that "every coalition has noises. We live in an age where there is no pause. Twitter is always open and the reactions are often from the stomach and not one hundred percent from the head. But friends, our responsibility is different because we are a different coalition."
He said, "This is no longer a government, we were the finger in the dam that stopped the country from slipping into disaster, into a fifth election, a complete halt to functioning and a dramatic weakening of the state in all parameters. These were us, and some of us paid a heavy price ".