Netanyahu holds urgent talks as Smotrich calls for elections over budget vote delay |
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Monday reportedly dared the Haredi parties to dissolve the Knesset, declaring that if they cannot support the 2026 state budget, Israel should hold early elections.
Speaking with the Ynet news site, a source close to Smotrich said that the far-right politician was “no longer willing to link the budget law to the [ultra-Orthodox] draft law.”
“If they are not willing, then they should bring a law to dissolve the Knesset,” the source stated, adding that “there is a country here to manage. If we don’t want to vote on a budget, we will go to elections.”
According to Channel 12, Smotrich sent a similar message to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, declaring that if the budget didn’t pass its first reading on Monday the Knesset should be dissolved.
Earlier in the day, a spokeswoman for coalition whip Ofir Katz announced in a statement, without providing any reason, that Monday evening’s planned first reading of the budget bill had been postponed until Wednesday.
Sources in the ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties told The Times of Israel that the delay was related to the ongoing fight over legislation exempting yeshiva students from military service. Smotrich was meeting Monday afternoon with Netanyahu along with Shas chairman Aryeh Deri and Degel HaTorah leader Moshe Gafni to discuss the matter.
The delay placed additional pressure on Netanyahu’s coalition, which must begin votes on the budget this week in order to meet a legally mandated March 31 deadline. Under Israeli law, if the government fails to pass the budget by the end of March, the Knesset will automatically dissolve, triggering early elections three months later. Elections are currently slated to be held by late October.
Knesset Legal Adviser Sagit Afik informed lawmakers last Sunday that a first reading of the budget must be held by this week because at least two months must pass between the first and second readings of the........