Knesset Approves First Reading of 2025 State Budget – Without Otzma Yehudit

Photo Credit: Chaim Goldberg / Flash 90

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir during a plenum session in the Knesset, November 11, 2024.

The 2025 State Budget has passed its first reading in the Knesset plenum by a vote of 58-53, albeit without the support of the Otzma Yehudit party, a coalition member.

National Security Minister and Otzma Yehudit chairman Itamar Ben-Gvir withheld his vote over the government’s failure to fire Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miari, with whom he has had difficulties and a fractious relationship.

Earlier in the day, Ben-Gvir announced his party no longer considers itself bound by coalition discipline.

“In recent weeks, the coalition’s components have been operating independently in a variety of areas, starting from the refusal to submit a proposal for a decision to begin firing the attorney general this coming Sunday to the government, moving on to negotiating an irresponsible deal, and ending with damaging the budget of the Ministry of National Security and its agencies,” Ben-Gvir wrote in a statement on the X social media platform.

“Consequently, the Otzma Yehudit faction will not be bound by the coalition’s position, including in the budget law, and will operate independently and selectively starting this evening.”

Several Otzma Yehudit party lawmakers subsequently voted against the budget, which must be passed by March 31, 2025, or the government automatically falls – triggering early elections.

On Sunday, Defense Minister Israel Katz urged the government to increase Israel’s defense budget in light of the ongoing threats facing the Jewish State. He raised the issue during the day with members of the Nagel Commission, which was tasked with overseeing military finances, among other things.

In passing the budget, the Knesset voted to raise the deficit ceiling to 4.3 percent and allow government spending to increase by an additional $17,835,000,000 (NIS 64 billion). The budget sets overall spending at $199.23 billion (NIS 744 billion) and includes approximately NIS 40 billion for tax hikes and spending cuts.

At present, Israel’s budget deficit stands at approximately 8.5 percent of GDP, according to the Bank of Israel.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich praised the budget, saying it gave security forces “everything they need to continue the war and maintain Israel’s supremacy in the Middle East” while containing the “foundations for accelerated economic growth.”

The budget now goes back to committee for further review and amendment before returning for a second and third final reading in the Knesset plenum.