Israel’s 2026 state budget will be brought for a first reading vote in the Knesset on Monday, as part of the annual high-stakes process that could trigger early elections in the country.
If approved in the vote, the budget will be sent to the Knesset's Finance Committee for deliberations and revisions before returning to the plenum for its second and third readings.
If the state budget is not approved in all three readings by the end of March, when the fiscal year closes, the Knesset will automatically dissolve, and elections will be called.
Israel's budget will be NIS 662 billion for 2026
According to the state budget proposal approved by the government beforehand, state spending would be 662 billion shekels, excluding debt servicing. The deficit ceiling was set at 3.9% of gross domestic product.
Defense outlays were raised to NIS 112 billion ($35.45 billion) from an initial NIS 90 billion.
The discussion in the plenum is expected to begin on Monday evening, before the vote is carried out.
The budget vote comes amid an ongoing political standoff between the government and the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties over the controversial haredi draft bill. Critics of the draft bill argue that the current outline fails to enforce haredi conscription and serves primarily as a political measure to appease the haredi parties, while the IDF has warned it urgently lacks manpower.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been without a stable coalition majority since July, following the collapse of negotiations over the haredi conscription legislation, which led haredi parties - Shas and United Torah Judaism - to exit the government.
Both haredi parties have threatened to withhold support for the state budget unless agreements are reached on the draft law to avoid conscription.
The parties have also threatened to vote against the state budget if the haredi draft bill were not passed beforehand - as has occurred.
However, the government has reportedly persuaded the haredi parties to support the budget in its first reading, with assurances that the draft legislation will advance soon afterward.
Estimates from within the coalition believe that the budget will be approved with the support of Shas and United Torah Judaism, according to a Sunday Kan News report.
MK Vladimir Beliak (Yesh Atid) said he believes that the state budget will pass its first reading despite the political infighting, while speaking to The Jerusalem Post last week.
Meanwhile, advancement on the haredi draft bill was postponed from taking place last week on Thursday in the Knesset ahead of the state budget vote.
Discussions to advance the draft bill in the Knesset are scheduled to continue to be carried out already on Tuesday, the day after the state budget vote.
The Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee’s legal advisor has voiced criticism over certain sections of the haredi draft bill that are expected to require changes.
Beliak outlined to the Post what he believes will follow if the budget clears its initial hurdle of first reading.
He said he can assume that the government will “do everything it can to advance the [draft] exemption law while moving forward with budget discussions in parallel, because they don’t have time. They can’t pass a budget without a [draft] exemption law.”
Opposition leader Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) slammed the government-drafted state budget outline during a press conference at the Knesset last week.
“The government has presented a budget of the corrupt and the shirkers, wasteful, negligent, continuing to exploit and grind down working people who pay taxes, serve in the reserves, and keep the country alive,” Lapid said.
Lapid criticized funds being transferred to the haredi parties as part of the state budget.
Beliak told the Post there was "no doubt" the opposition would vote unanimously against the state budget in the plenum.