Israeli lawmakers voted early Monday from a fortified bunker to pass the largest budget in the nation's history, totaling $271 billion. Analysts say one of the main aims of this spending bill is a massive financial injection into extreme right-wing projects that will fundamentally alter the occupied West Bank, prioritizing settlement expansion over diplomatic solutions.
Citing “national security” amid the ongoing war with Iran, the ruling coalition has bypassed legal frameworks to direct billions toward ideological goals, including supporting Israeli settlers establishing outposts and settlements in the West Bank. While the record defense allocation of $45.8 billion has dominated headlines, the budget’s fine print reveals a calculated shift toward entrenching the occupation and empowering the far-right elements of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, which openly defies the internationally backed two-state solution.
A key pillar of this strategy is the allocation of 400 million shekels ($129.5 million) to the Ministry of Settlement and National Missions, the body that authorizes illegal Jewish-only settlements and outposts on Palestinian land. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who was granted sweeping administrative powers over the occupied territory in 2023, has been explicit about his opposition to any form of two-state solution, stating it blocks a “Palestinian terror state.”
Detailed projects in the budget include building new bypass roads through Palestinian towns, providing official protection for illegal settlement outposts with a 50-million-shekel ($16 million) allocation for civilian security equipment operated by settlers, turning agricultural areas into permanent “chasing zones” to silently displace Palestinians, and incorporating armed settlers into the state’s official civilian security apparatus. UN data shows settlers—often protected by Israeli soldiers—attacked Palestinians nearly 3,000 times over the past two years, amid surging violence since the onset of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023.
To ensure the passage of this agenda, the government has had to secure its internal flanks. Researcher Ihab Jabareen notes that Netanyahu sees the budget as an “insurance policy” for his political survival, trading state funds for such projects in return for continued support from coalition partners. In a move that bypassed usual legal blocks, the coalition engineered a late-night maneuver by slipping a last-minute amendment into the “Arrangements Law” to redirect approximately $255 million to Haredi yeshivas, aiming to prevent religious factions from collapsing the government over a military draft crisis.
The passing of this budget has also highlighted profound divisions within the Israeli opposition. During a 13-hour marathon session, exhausted opposition lawmakers voted in favor of the coalition’s late-night amendment for yeshiva funding, which Jabareen attributes to Netanyahu outmaneuvering them through parliamentary arithmetic. He describes the opposition as a “rejection front, not a governing front,” united against Netanyahu but deeply divided over any political alternative, with leaders like Yair Lapid, Benny Gantz, and Avigdor Liberman plagued by personal and political rivalries.
Analysts warn that by prioritizing settlement expansion and far-right ideological projects, the spending bill will have severe long-term consequences. Jabareen states, “Every shekel placed in this path is withdrawn from any future viable Palestinian state.” As a result, the budget will not only further entrench the rift in Israel between the secular public required to serve in the military and the religious right receiving state privileges but also further destabilize the region, undermining prospects for peace and increasing tensions with international bodies like the United Nations and the International Court of Justice.
Source: www.aljazeera.com