The budget approved by Israel's parliament strengthens Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's grip on power and includes significant military spending.
The spending plan approved by Israel's parliament gives Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a major political victory and includes a significant portion of military spending, signaling Israel's intention to remain at war for the long term.
The $206 billion budget was approved on Tuesday with support broad enough – 66 to 52 – to shore up Mr Netanyahu's grip on power after more than a year of public anger over Israeli hostages, bitter political opposition and legal challenges.
The budget's passage has profound political and financial implications. If it were not passed by the end of the month, parliament would automatically be dissolved. That would set off elections some 18 months early, which Mr. Netanyahu's coalition of right-wing parties could lose, according to recent polls.
Mr Netanyahu now has much more leeway in setting his government's priorities both domestically and in Gaza, as it will be harder for any disgruntled party in his coalition to threaten to bring it down.
“It could mean a rise in far-right populism and a war in Gaza, or it could mean developing an exit strategy and trying to push for a normalization deal with Saudi Arabia,” said Michael Koplow, an analyst at the Israel Policy Forum, a New York-based research group. “But whichever path it takes, it will reflect Netanyahu’s own calculations, not what his coalition partners are pushing him toward.”
Mr. Netanyahu’s partners are probably not inclined to break the coalition anyway, at least for now, political analysts say. Some of his right-wing allies have seen their parties flounder in the polls, while others — such as the ultra-Orthodox — may find it difficult to find an alternative path to power despite their differences with Mr. Netanyahu, they say.
