Bennett spars with opposition over state budget

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett defends the state budget during a Knesset plenum session called by 40 opposition members.

Several opposition lawmakers are removed from the chamber during the session for heckling and angry outbursts.

“There is no limit to your lack of self-awareness,” Bennett says in comments directed at the opposition. “This government approved in its first reading the most socially [minded] budget we’ve had in years. This [the approval of a state budget] hasn’t happened since March 2018,” says the prime minister.

A state budget hasn’t been approved since 2018 amid the protracted political crisis that resulted in four consecutive election cycles.

The government has until November to finalize the budget and have it approved in its second and third readings, or the coalition automatically dissolves and new elections are called.