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Israel spared new vote as MPs pass budget

Ilan Ben ZionAP
Israeli PM Naftali Bennett (centre) welcomed the passage of the budget in the Knesset.
Camera IconIsraeli PM Naftali Bennett (centre) welcomed the passage of the budget in the Knesset. Credit: EPA

Israel’s parliament has passed a budget for the first time in three years, avoiding a November deadline that would have brought down the new government and triggered another election.

The marathon overnight voting on budget bills in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, was a major hurdle for the new government headed by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, whose fractious coalition holds a narrow majority.

Failure to pass the budget by November 14 would have brought down the government that was sworn into office in June and triggered a fifth election in barely three years, giving former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu an opportunity to return to power.

Bennett celebrated on Twitter, writing that “after years of chaos - we formed a government, we overcame the Delta variant and now, thank God, we passed a budget for Israel”.

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