Prime Minister Netanyahu has been threatened over the past 24 hours by both sectors of his government that they will not support the state budget, and as a result the government will automatically fall – Agudat Israel on the one hand and Ben-Gvir on the other.
In the first, and perhaps most serious, sector: after agreeing to postpone the enactment of the draft law and backing Levin's reform measures, Agudat Israel was heartbroken by the non-fulfillment of the coalition agreements promised to them.
Goldknopf and the rest of his party are demanding that the budgets for exemption institutions that do not teach core education apply retroactively from the beginning of 2023, while currently the state budget applies these budgets only from next month. This is an additional NIS 600 million, which Smotrich and the Ministry of Finance vehemently oppose, claiming that there is nowhere to get the money.
Goldknopf. Menacing, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Goldknopf threatens that if he does not receive the funds, Agudat Israel will not support the budget, and one of the party ministers who comes out according to Norwegian law will resign in the future and return to being a Knesset member so as not to vote in favor of the budget. Without him, Netanyahu would not have 61 supporters, and the budget would not be able to pass.
Battle for credit
Agudat Israel members held meetings with the Rebbe, who gave the order and insisted on keeping it. Therefore, Netanyahu will find it more difficult to deal with them than with ultra-Orthodox politicians. Senior Likud officials claim that behind the scenes, for the credit for budgets for the ultra-Orthodox, there is a struggle between Gafni, who has made achievements in his capacity on the Finance Committee, and Agudat Israel.
Agudat Israel, on the other hand, points to coalition commitments that have not been fulfilled, and claims that this is not a desire for credit. Gafni and Deri do not share Agudat Israel's threat, but Goldknopf demanded that Gafni oppose the budget as well.
Netanyahu. Headache, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
"What about the Negev and Galilee?"
On the second front, Ben-Gvir threatens to continue boycotting the coalition votes and not voting on the budget, claiming that Smotrich did not take care of the budgets of the Negev and Galilee, and directed large amounts of coalition funds to Orit Struk's office and to the needs of his party.
Ben-Gvir insists that he was elected on the votes of the Negev and Galilee, and therefore will not compromise on his demand. Netanyahu made it clear to Ben-Gvir that there was nowhere to raise the funds, and Smotrich also opposes Ben-Gvir's demand.
Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir. Threatening to boycott, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Those around Smotrich and the Likud reject Ben-Gvir's claims, saying they have made many achievements in the budget for the residents of the Negev and Galilee.
Among these: increasing the budget of the Ministry of the Negev and Galilee, which stood at NIS 530 million, by an additional NIS 450 million; allocation of a budget of NIS 1.7 billion to communities near the Gaza Strip; and promoting the transfer of the Intelligence Campus to the Negev – a project worth billions.
Ministry of Finance. Many achievements for the residents of the Negev and Galilee, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Also: construction of a railway network from Kiryat Shmona to Eilat; allocation of NIS 600 million for the defense of the north; allocating NIS 6 billion to extend Highway 6 to the north; construction of the Karmiel-Kiryat Shmona railway; and increasing the budget of the Settlement Division from NIS 70 million to NIS 230 million, a sum to be divided between the Negev, Galilee and Judea and Samaria (a third for each region).
Smotrich also points to the allocation of NIS 2 billion to encourage capital investment and innovation in agriculture, and NIS 700 million a year as direct support for farmers.
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