The Israeli Knesset on Thursday approved the 2026 state budget in a preliminary vote, granting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a temporary political reprieve to avoid early elections.
The bill passed with 62 lawmakers in favor and 55 opposed, in a decisive session marked by growing internal crises within the government.
Budget Figures and Deficit Targets
The proposed budget totals approximately $214.43 billion, excluding debt servicing, with a deficit ceiling set at 3.9% of the country’s projected GDP for the year.
Despite the preliminary approval, Netanyahu’s right-wing government faces significant hurdles in securing final passage before the end of March, the legal deadline to prevent the dissolution of the Knesset and the calling of early elections.
Internal Divisions Over Military Conscription
The vote highlighted ongoing tensions within the coalition. Several lawmakers from ultra-Orthodox parties abstained from supporting the budget in protest over the failure to pass a military conscription law.
These factions have demanded legislation exempting religious seminary students from mandatory service. Meanwhile, other government factions, alongside opposition parties, insist on full conscription, particularly in light of the human losses suffered by the Israeli military in Gaza and Lebanon over the past two years, estimated at roughly 1,000 soldiers.