Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, and the heads of the Finance Ministry on Monday night discussed the 2013-2014 state budget. The discussion centered on ways to bridge the gap between outlays and income, which, said sources, was substantial. This is the second discussion on the budget Netanyahu has participated in.

The budget is supposed to be passed by December 31, according to the law. If necessary, approval of the budget can be postponed to March of next year. If it is not passed at that point, the government is supposed to be disbanded, with new elections called.