In a rare night-time Knesset Finance Committee debate, a series of major budget transfers were approved on the eve of the end of the 2024 budget year. Discussions took place despite a legal dispute and harsh criticism from the opposition.
Among the key transfers approved: NIS 3.63 billion for National Insurance Institute allocations, NIS 2.36 billion to the Ministry of Health, and NIS 161 million for local authorities.
NIS 211 million was approved for the Ministry of Interior and is mostly intended for Shas chairman Aryeh Deri's food stamp program, as part of the implementation of the coalition agreements. NIS 126 million has been sent to the Prime Minister's Office for both grants to local authorities and coalition funds.
A budget transfer of roughly NIS 4.5 billion was allocated to the Ministry of Education, after being re-discussed because of questions from the legal bureau left unanswered. Opposition members also claimed that the transfer, which includes coalition budgets, was approved improperly.
Knesset legal advisor Sagit Afek was strongly critical of the debate being held at such a late hour. She said, "The fact that the committee chooses to continue working at this hour is a very problematic precedent." She added that over the years the Ministry of Finance insisted that the budget closed earlier and that budget requests approved so late could not be implemented. Ministry of Finance representatives noted that although the budget was supposed to close at noon, an effort was made to postpone its closure until the evening to allow the budget changes to be approved.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on January 1, 2025
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