By Emily Rose
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu got up from his hospital bed to call on unruly coalition partners to fall in line and back his government’s 2025 budget after hardline rebels threatened to pull support for the bill.
Netanyahu, recovering from prostate surgery, came to the Knesset against the recommendation of his doctors to ensure the passing of legislation aimed at increasing state revenues after the far-right public security minister Itamar Ben Gvir and ultra-Orthodox parties said they might vote against the law or abstain.
The bill, a wartime austerity package of tax hikes and spending cuts, passed narrowly but the opposition was another sign of ever-widening cracks in Netanyahu’s coalition, the furthest right in Israel’s history.
In an initial vote earlier this month, Israeli lawmakers narrowly approved the budget bill despite a rebellion by coalition partners demanding he fire Israel’s attorney general.
“I expect all the members of the coalition, including Minister Ben-Gvir, to stop rattling the coalition and endangering the existence of a right-wing government,” Netanyahu said on Tuesday.
Ben Gvir has demanded more funding for the Israeli police which his office oversees, and ultra-Orthodox parties have expressed opposition to legislation that would force some members of its communities to enlist in the military.
The budget next goes to the Knesset finance and other committees, where it could face changes. It is not expected to be fully approved until at least January. Failure to approve the budget by March 31 would trigger new elections.
Netanyahu in September sought to bolster his coalition, which had a 64-56 edge in the Knesset, by bringing in opposition lawmaker Gideon Saar and his four seats in the New Hope party, enabling him to be less reliant on other members of his ruling coalition. Saar last month was named foreign minister.
Israel’s economy has taken a hit since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Palestinian Hamas militants and the ensuing war in Gaza and on other fronts.
There has been zero growth but supply issues have pushed up inflation, and the cost of living for Israelis has soared.
($1 = 3.6402 shekels)
(Reporting by Emily Rose; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
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