Israel spared fifth snap election as lawmakers pass budget

By ILAN BEN ZION
Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s parliament has passed a national budget for the first time in three years, avoiding a November deadline that would have brought down the new government and triggered another election. The marathon overnight voting on the 2021 budget bill in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, ended on Thursday morning. It was a major hurdle for the new government headed by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, whose fractious coalition holds a narrow majority. Bennett celebrated on Twitter, writing that “after years of chaos — we formed a government, we overcame the delta variant, and now, thank God, we passed a budget for Israel.”