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The crises, the talks and the countdown: the coalition's fateful week is underway - voila! news

2023-05-20T20:08:24.533Z

Highlights: The Knesset will vote this week on the state budget for 2024-2023, just days before the final deadline at the end of this month. Otzma Yehudit, Agudat Israel and Avi Maoz of the Noam Party are threatening not to support the budget. The coalition believes that the budget will be approved, but the dialogue with the three will continue until the last minute. Netanyahu's office tried over the weekend to prevent the crisis with the party, but so far without success.


Ben-Gvir, Goldknopf and Maoz are demanding an increase to the budget, which they claim was promised in agreements with Netanyahu. If the crisis with them is not resolved, the integrity of the coalition will be in danger. The coalition believes that the budget will be approved, but the dialogue with the three will continue until the last minute


In the video: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in a discussion preparing for the state budget_13.02.23 (GPO)

The coalition's fateful week is underway – the Knesset will vote this week on the state budget for 2024-2023, just days before the final deadline at the end of this month. So far, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not resolved the crisis with Otzma Yehudit and Agudat Israel, and the coalition believes that attempts at dialogue will continue until the last minute and in the end the budget will be approved by a majority vote.

The deadline for approving the budget is May 29, a little more than a week away, and if it is not approved by then, the Knesset will automatically dissolve for elections. Netanyahu's coalition decided to hold the votes this week so as not to reach the last minute in case of crises. The plenary session will begin on Monday morning, with a final vote expected on Wednesday.

Will solve the crisis? Netanyahu (Photo processing, Jonathan Zindel, Flash 90)

At this point, Otzma Yehudit, Agudat Israel and Avi Maoz of the Noam Party are threatening not to support the budget. Agudat Israel Chairman Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf is demanding an additional half a billion shekels for ultra-Orthodox education, and Otzma Yehudit chairman, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, is demanding additional budgets for the Negev and Galilee Ministry.

Ministers Goodknopf and Meir Frosh are demanding an additional NIS 600 million for Avrachim, yeshivas and educational institutions that teach core education only partially. One of the two is expected to resign from the government earlier this week if the crisis is not resolved, in order to return to the Knesset. Thus, Agudat Israel will be with four Knesset members and will be able to vote against the budget and threaten the integrity of the coalition. Netanyahu's office tried over the weekend to prevent the crisis with the party, but so far without success. In the meantime, Shas and Degel HaTorah have refrained from joining Agudat Yisrael's public battle and are not toeing the line with Goldknopf's demand.

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I feel that Netanyahu is not protecting him. Ben Gvir (Photo: Reuven Castro)

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The second crisis is with Ben-Gvir, who is demanding an additional budget for the Ministry of the Negev and Galilee, headed by Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf. At their last meeting in the Knesset last week, Ben-Gvir accused Netanyahu: "You don't keep your word." The chairman of Otzma Yehudit reminded Netanyahu of their conversation on the eve of the formation of the government. "Bezalel will make my life miserable as finance minister," Ben-Gvir told him at the time. "He'll want me small and ineffectual." Netanyahu vowed back: "I will protect you." Ben-Gvir feels that this is what is happening now, but Netanyahu is not protecting it. Ben-Gvir has so far not explicitly said whether he will vote against the budget if the crisis is not resolved, but the coalition knows that the national security minister may cause a headache with the votes, similar to what happened last week.

A third crisis was born last Friday with MK Avi Maoz. The latter announced that he would vote against the budget if the budget of the Jewish National Identity Authority was not approved. Maoz clarified that "this means that the coalition shrinks to only 63 Knesset members." Netanyahu will have to try in the next two days to resolve these crises in the coalition. According to assessments, the budget will be approved, but the threats on the eve of the approval of the budget and the conduct of some of the coalition partners may also affect its conduct in the future.

  • news
  • Political-Political

Tags

  • State budget
  • Benjamin Netanyahu
  • Itamar Ben-Gvir
  • Itzhak Goldknopf
  • Avi Maoz

Source: walla

All news articles on 2023-05-20

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