Finance
As budget vote continues, Smotrich 'won't surrender to last minute extortion'
Voting on a controversial update of the national 2024 budget is ongoing despite reports of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s announcing that it would be delayed in the Knesset plenum on Wednesday after a number of coalition members threatened not to vote in favor of the budget if last-minute changes were not implemented.
The first to threaten not to support the budget was Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter (Likud), over a provision to cut an important agricultural research organization, the Volcani Institute, by 25%. Likud MK David Bitan reportedly joined Dichter for the same reason. According to Ynet, a third Likud MK, Amit Halevi, conditioned his vote in favor of the budget on a pledge to pass a bill proposal of his regarding education ministry oversight of schools in east Jerusalem.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to Dichter’s demand and pledged to resolve the crisis in the agriculture budget by Passover.
Budget on the line
Likud MK Yuli Edelstein is not present in the Knesset, as he is in mourning over the death of his mother. The budget needs 61 votes to pass, and National Unity’s 12 Knesset members, who joined the coalition after the war broke out on October 7, announced that they will oppose the budget. Therefore, the absence of four MKs from the 64-member pre-war coalition is enough for the budget not to pass.
Voting was supposed to commence at 12:0 p.m. on Wednesday after a conclusion of the marathon debate by Finance Minister Smotrich. However, instead of Smotrich, Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi took the dais and spoke for over an hour in an attempt to delay voting.
In the meanwhile, Smotrich gave a statement to the media outside the Knesset plenum.
“We will soon bring to the plenum a good war budget. I have no intention of surrendering to all kinds of special interest extortionists, and the budget will not be opened at the last moment. This is my budgetary responsibility. I call on the prime minister to announce that he too intends not to surrender to political extortion, and bring the budget to a vote as is.”