A major obstacle to the passage of the State budget was overcome after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on an increased budget for the Negev and the Galilee.
At the end of a meeting which lasted several hours, it was agreed that an additional NIS 250 million would be provided for the Negev and the Galilee Ministry.
The source of the budget will be from the budget surpluses of all government ministries for 2023. If there are no budget surpluses, no funds will be transferred to the ministry.
Ben-Gvir and Negev and the Galilee Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf praised the agreement, calling it "important news for the residents of the Negev and the Galilee."
According to the agreement between Netanyahu and Ben-Gvir, all members of the Otzma Yehudit faction will vote in favor of the state budget for the years 2023-2024 and the accompanying laws in the Knesset in their second and third readings.