Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, September 2, 2021
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, September 2, 2021
Netanyahu laces into ‘bad’ state budget in Knesset speech
Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu seen during a vote on the state budget at the Knesset, on September 2, 2021. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
Addressing the Knesset plenum from behind a glass-enclosed balcony, where he is quarantined after returning from abroad, Opposition Leader Benjamin Netanyahu criticizes the proposed state budget.
“The budget you presented today is bad. It includes… tax hikes, in total opposition to your promises. You are hurting farmers, the weaker populations, the periphery, the middle class,” says Netanyahu.
The debates and first reading votes of the budget are expected to last through the night. The government must approve the budget in two more votes by November or elections are automatically called.
