Israel’s Netanyahu and allies pass new budget with sweeping grants

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government on Wednesday passed a new two-year budget, a step that could bring some stability to his coalition and clear the way for it to press ahead with its religious, pro-settlement agenda.
While the budget could buy Netanyahu some quiet inside his coalition of ultra-Orthodox and ultranationalist parties, Israel’s most hard-line ever, it also was expected to deepen the divisions in Israel.
Critics have accused Netanyahu of increasing spending on his ultra-Orthodox allies for religious programs that have little benefit for the economy and broader society.
The vote dragged on overnight, with the budgets for 2023 and 2024 finally passing with a 64-56 vote in parliament after daybreak. It followed weeks of tense negotiations between Netanyahu and the parties in his coalition.