Prime Minister Naftali Bennett addressed the Knesset on Wednesday evening, calling the passage of the budget bill the most important moment since his government came to power as lawmakers were gearing up for a vote in the plenum.
Bennett spoke as the parliament was set to begin voting on 780 items in the proposed national budget bill expected to pass late on Thursday night.
Bennett said passage of the bill will mark an end to what he called was the "chaos" that the country endured because of his predecessors' refusal to pass a budget due to political considerations.
In his speech, Bennett accused former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of opting to take the country to consecutive election cycles in order to stay in power and used the legislative body as a tool for his "personal advantage," due to his ongoing criminal trial for corruption.
Netanyahu who spoke after the prime minister, repeated accusations that Bennett paid the Islamist Ra'am party, a member of his coalition, funds that were destined for the Hamas terror group in Gaza, a claim denied by Ra'am and the government.
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Netanyahu addressing the Knesset ahead of voting on the budget on Wednesday
(Photo: Amit Shabi)
The Knesset was in the midst of a 33-hour long session culminating in a vote on Thursday or Friday on the budget that is expected to pass - barring unforeseen circumstances.
The 2021-2022 budget passed its preliminary reading in September. It will be the first time a budget is passed since 2018.
A failure to pass the bill would result in the immediate dissolution of the government.
Both coalition and opposition members had been trying to coerce Members of Knesset to switch alliances because of the narrow majority the coalition enjoys.
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Knesset guards remove Netanyahu ally MK Dudi Amsalem of the Likud party from the plenum after he called Finance Minister Liberman a Bolshevik
(Photo: Alex Kolomoisky)
Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman presented the budget bill from the podium earlier, and was immediately attacked by Netanyahu ally MK Dudi Amsalem, who shouted at the minister, an immigrant from the former Soviet Union, "You Bolshevik, I can feel in my hands what we will be doing to you soon."
Amsalem was removed from the plenum by Knesset guards under order of the speaker.