Knesset passes budget disbursement bill in overnight vote

Lawmakers passed a key budget bill overnight, a spokesperson for the Knesset says, paving the way for the government to pass a budget before a deadline forces new elections.

The Economic Arrangements Law — which determines how funds in the annual budget will be disbursed — passes by a vote of 63 to 50, largely along party lines.

The law is usually the final precursor for passing the budget. If the coalition does not pass the budget by March 31, the Knesset will automatically be dissolved — by law — and new elections called.

Touting the bill, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich claims the measure contains “massive sums” for reserves soldiers and for rehabilitating the north and south of the country.

“We are serving all the needs of the front lines and the home front [and] embracing reservists at unprecedented levels, because they deserve it,” Smotrich says according to a Knesset statement.