Smotrich to present Netanyahu with 2026 budget that faces battle for approval

By Reuters 23 November 2025, 3:18 pm

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Minister of Finance and Head of the Religious Zionist Party Bezalel Smotrich leads a faction meeting at the Knesset in Jerusalem, November 17, 2025. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and senior ministry officials will present Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today with the state budget and planned structural reforms for 2026, Smotrich’s office says.

“The finance minister will present to the prime minister the necessary measures to ensure continued economic growth and to combat the high cost of living,” it says.

It added that cabinet ministers would vote on the budget on Dec. 4 but it is unlikely the budget would be approved by year end.

According to law, the budget must be approved by the Knesset by the end of March or new elections are triggered.

Its final approval faces an uphill battle that could ultimately lead to new elections that in any case must be held by October 2026.