The Diet’s Finance Committee held an unusual nighttime debate and approved a series of major budget transfers on the eve of the end of the 2024 budget year. The debate took place despite legal wrangling and harsh criticism from opposition parties.
Among the main transfers approved are NIS 3.63 billion allocated to the National Insurance Institute, NIS 2.36 billion to the Ministry of Health, and NIS 161 million to local authorities.
Related articles
The Diet enacts the Locked-in Profits Act with a one-vote margin
NIS 211 million was approved by the Ministry of the Interior, the majority of which will be earmarked for Shas Chairman Arie Deri’s food stamp program as part of the implementation of the coalition agreement. NIS 126 million was transferred to the Prime Minister’s Office as a subsidy to local governments and the Union Fund.
After unanswered questions from the Ministry of Justice were reconsidered, a budget transfer of approximately NIS 4.5 billion was allocated to the Ministry of Education. Opposition members also claimed that the transfer, which included the coalition budget, had been unfairly approved.
Parliament’s legal adviser Sajid Afek strongly criticized the debate, which was held at such a late hour. She said: “The fact that the commission chose to continue its work at this time sets a very problematic precedent.” He added that the Treasury Department has long advocated for early budget deadlines and argued that budget requests approved too late cannot be implemented. A Ministry of Finance official noted that the budget was scheduled to close at noon, but efforts were made to postpone it until the evening so that budget changes could be approved.
Globes, Israel Business News – en.globes.co.il – Published January 1, 2025
© Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. Copyright, 2024
