The Otzma Yehudit Party threatened on Sunday not to attend Knesset voting this week to amend the 2024 budget, if the amendments did not include reappropriations of funds for internal security agencies under party leader and National Security Minister MK Itamar Ben-Gvir.
The Knesset plenum is scheduled to convene on Monday and Thursday this week in order to amend the 2024 budget by increasing government spending by approximately NIS 3.4 billion, as well as to vote on a number of other bills. The increase in spending will go toward a number of war-related issues, including funding for evacuees and released hostages and their families until the end of 2024; funding for businesses affected by the war; increased funding for combat reservists and their families, and more.
The increase in funding will not require an update to the legal 2024 budget deficit of 6.6%, since it will be based on larger-than-expected state tax income, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said.
The move technically requires two legislative amendments, the first to the Deficit Reduction and Limitation of Budgetary Expense Law, and the second to the 2024 Budget Law. The former will reach the plenum on Monday, and the latter is expected to reach the plenum on Thursday.
Without Otzma Yehudit’s six MKs, the coalition will have just a narrow 58-56 majority to pass the amendments.
The party claimed that Knesset Finance Committee chairman MK Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) had in recent weeks refused to hold votes on two budget reappropriations related to Ben-Gvir’s ministry, which included funding for a series of expenses involving the Israel Police, the Fire and Rescue Service, and the Israel Prison Service. One of these expenses, for example, was funding for 225 jailers in new prison wings under construction.
According to Otzma Yehudit, Gafni had refused to hold a vote on the reappropriations after reaching a political deal with opposition leader MK Yair Lapid, in which Lapid agreed in return to drop the opposition’s reservations on a certain bill, which Otzma Yehudit did not specify.
The party demanded that instead of approving the reappropriations in the committee, they could be added as additional clauses in the legislation to update the 2024 budget. The party said that Finance Ministry officials opposed the proposal since it would lead other ministers to make similar requests, but responded that these were necessary measures involving national security and therefore should receive special treatment.
The UTJ party's demands
United Torah Judaism (UTJ) already threatened last week that it would boycott the plenum, until the issue of a new salary agreement for its affiliated education system was resolved. The party wants its semi-private education system to enter an agreement called “Ofek Hadash.” However, Justice Ministry and Finance Ministry officials have not approved the move due to their education system not meeting certain criteria.
Despite the threat, a report on Sunday showed a text message from UTJ’s secretary directing UTJ’s MKs to attend the plenum regardless. The reason for the backtracking from the threat was unclear as of press time on Sunday evening, and a spokesman for Gafni said that the issue had not yet been resolved.
Opposition leader MK Yair Lapid announced on Saturday evening that he had canceled a diplomatic trip to the US in order to attend the plenum voting. A different MK from Lapid’s Yesh Atid Party explained that the party would oppose the budget enlargement since the correct move should have been to cut existing political and sectoral funds, instead of enlarging government spending.
The Knesset is officially on recess until October 28, but can convene at the request of the government or the Knesset speaker.