Knesset voted for the state budget Arrangements Law in its first parliamentary reading, Channel 12 reported Thursday.
The Arrangements Law is a government-sponsored bill presented to Knesset each year alongside the State Budget Law. It incorporates government bills and legislative amendments that are needed in order for the government to fulfill its economic policy.
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Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Ra'am chief Mansour Abbas shake hands during a Knesset hearing on the state budget
(Photo: Yoav Dudkevitch)
The coalition had to amend the bill to appease the left-wing coalition member Meretz who opposed a regulatory reform proposed by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s Yamina party included in the Arrangements Bill for fear it would benefit business and industry at the expense of public health and the environment.
This comes three and a half years after the last state budget was approved.
The state budget for the year 2021 will stand at NIS 439 billion and NIS 463 billion in 2022.
Speaking to the Knesset plenum, opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu rapped the proposed budget outline, which he described as "bad."
"The budget presented today is a bad one. It includes punishments [on the public] and tax hikes in stark contrast to your promises. You are hurting farmers, the weaker populations, the periphery, the middle class,” Netanyahu said, behind a glass-enclosed balcony where he is quarantining after returning from abroad.
The Likud chairman has also hit out at the coalition for billions promised to coalition member Ra'am — an Islamist party which supports Palestinian independence — and a deal recently announced by Defense Minister Benny Gantz to give the Palestinian Authority a NIS 500-million ($155-million) loan in a bid to save its economy as it finds itself in the doldrums.
"You gave a fortune to [Ra'am leader] Mansour Abbas and [Palestinian President] Mahmoud Abbas because you depend on the NIS 53 billion you promised Ra'am."