Israeli Knesset approves state budget in final vote

By Abdelraouf Arnaout and Rania Abu Shamala

JERUSALEM /ISTANBUL (AA) – The Knesset (Israel’s parliament) passed the 2025 state budget on Tuesday, in a major victory for the Benjamin Netanyahu government.

The 755.9 billion shekels ($206.4 billion) budget was approved in the third and final reading by 66-52 votes, the Knesset said in a statement.

The Israeli government had to pass the budget before the end of March or it would collapse automatically and go to early elections.

According to the public broadcaster KAN, the defense allocations reached 109.8 billion shekels ($30 billion) in the state budget, followed by the education allocations, which stood at 92 billion shekels ($25 billion).

“The budget has everything we need to win on the front and on the home front. We all approached this budget with a great sense of mission and responsibility,” far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said.

The Israeli army has launched a brutal military campaign in Gaza since October 2023, killing more than 50,100 people, injuring over 113,700 others and leaving the enclave in ruins.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.