State 2023-2024 budget faces stormy vote

 The Netanyahu government’s two-year state budget of NIS13.7bn ($3.73bn) up from NIS452.5m ($123.26m)  goes to the Knesset Tuesday night after hefty increments were awarded to the ultra-religious and far-right coalition members when they threatened to withdraw their votes. The government’s failure to gain majority budget approval would automatically trigger Parliament’s dissolution and a snap election. The last-minute increments for securing majority support are bitterly contested as coming at the expense of the funding top-ups urgently needed for neglected basic services, e.g., education, health, police, social services, public transport and local authorities in remote districts far from urban centers.