From the Liveblog of
Sunday, March 29, 2026
Knesset approves budget-related bill raising deficit ceiling, possible government expenditure
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Knesset lawmakers vote 62-55 in favor of the final reading of the State Budget Frameworks Law, raising the deficit ceiling for 2026 to 4.9% of GDP and increasing the allowable government expenditure in 2026, in conjunction with the Deficit Reduction and Limitation Law, by 8.8% or around NIS 60 billion ($19 billion).
The bill also allows the government to increase its permitted expenditure by an additional NIS 5.8 billion ($1.8 billion) to be used as a “civilian emergency reserve,” intended for financing security or civilian expenses arising from the current conflict with Iran.
The Times of Israel Community.