Knesset set to hold final votes on passing 2026 state budget today

By Ariela Karmel

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29 March 2026, 10:42 am

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Ariela Karmel is a political correspondent at The Times of Israel. She previously reported for Calcalist and Haaretz. She holds an MA in Middle Eastern and African History from Tel Aviv University and a BA in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.

A plenum session at the Knesset, January 14, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The Knesset is set to vote on the 2026 state budget today in second and third readings, with coalition lawmakers expected to secure its passage.

The coalition has until Tuesday to pass the budget to meet a legally mandated March 31 deadline.

The budget authorizes government spending of roughly NIS 850.6 billion ($271 billion) for the 2026 fiscal year, including more than NIS 30 billion ($9.5 billion) in additional wartime funding for defense, bringing the Defense Ministry’s allocation to NIS 143 billion ($45.8 billion).

This is an addition to NIS 22 billion ($7 billion) in income-dependent expenditure for defense, which are expected revenues, mainly from US defense grants, and can be spent only if they materialize, as well as NIS 82.2 billion ($26.3 billion) for long-term defense spending commitments, with payments to be made in future years.

Other major spending items also include nearly NIS 97 billion ($30.9 billion) for education, about NIS 64 billion ($20.3 billion) for the National Insurance Institute, and roughly NIS 63 billion ($20 billion) for health.

While the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism and Shas parties are expected to back the budget, allowing it to pass, according to Hebrew media reports, they are conditioning their support for today’s vote on the immediate return of the controversial draft exemption bill for yeshiva students after the budget’s passage, after the coalition shelved the legislation to advance the current budget.

Under the law, if the government fails to pass the budget by the end of March, the Knesset will automatically dissolve, triggering early elections three months later. Elections are currently scheduled for late October.