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Aug 2, 2021 - World

Israel's cabinet passes first state budget in three years

Barak Ravid
Israel's Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman (L), Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (C) attend the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on August 1

Israel's Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman (L), Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (C) attend a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on Sunday. Photo: Abir Sultan/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Israel's new government approved the 2021-2022 state budget on Monday, after a meeting that lasted almost 24 hours.

Why it matters: Previous governments couldn't pass a budget amid the political crisis that engulfed Israel over the past three years — preventing many government reforms from moving forward.

The big picture: This is a big achievement for Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and his coalition partners.

  • Passing the budget will significantly stabilize the new fragile government and will increase its survival chances for at least another 18 months.

What's next: The budget was approved by the government but still needs to pass a vote in the Knesset by the November 5th deadline.

  • The budget will now move to negotiations in the Knesset committees.
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