Israeli parties agree to pass state budget by December 31 ANI | Updated: Dec 21, 2020 09:38 IST
Tel Aviv [Israel], December 21 (ANI/Sputnik): Israel s Likud and Blue and White parties have agreed to hold negotiations over the state budget until the end of the month, which should allow preventing the dissolution of the Israeli parliament. Tomorrow, a bill will be consensually put forward, outlining a schedule according to which a 2020 state budget will be passed by December 31, 2020, and a 2021 state budget - by January 5, 2021, the Blue and White party said in a Sunday statement obtained by Sputnik.
If the budget is not agreed by the set date, the Knesset will automatically dissolve and early elections will be held on March 23, 2021.
12-21-2020
Image source: (AP Photo)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is blaming Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz for going back on his word and dragging the country into yet another round of elections. We worked very hard to prevent elections, unnecessary elections, Netanyahu said. We reached agreements with Blue and White. Because of internal pressure in his party, Benny Gantz decided to go back on it, and because of this thing, it s causing the country to go to unnecessary elections.
He said that instead of having a stable government, Gantz was running a government inside the government.
The comments came after Gantz said he had sent Netanyahu his final offer in an attempt to pass a budget and avert national elections.
Netanyahu, Gantz Agree to Disagree Another Day Uri Cohen 12/21/2020
Israel’s chaotic political system on Sunday did all it could to preserve its shoddy reputation, as Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz reached yet another last-minute agreement to postpone the budget deadline and delay elections. According to the law currently in place, if no budget is passed by December 23, parliament is dissolved and the country will head to the polls for the fourth time in two years. Yet the two frenemies decided to pass a bill extending the deadline by one week, to enable them to push through with negotiations regarding the continued cooperation of their unity government. According to the bill, the 2020 budget is to be passed by December 31, and the 2021 budget is to be passed by January 5. If either deadline is not met, then new elections will be held in March. While Netanyahu has avoided passing a budget for the past year, Gantz is looking to ensur
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The law states that if the Knesset doesn t pass a state budget by Tuesday, Israel will head for another round of elections, the fourth in two years.
According to the deal, Nissenkorn, a lawmaker from Benny Gantz s Kahol Lavan party, would lose his powers as Justice Minister in exchange for revoking the law stating that the Knesset would automatically dissolve if a 2020 state budget is not passed by the December 23 deadline.
On Sunday evening, some 300 anti-government activists protested near Gantz’s home in the central city of Rosh Ha’ayin, accusing him of surrendering to Netanyahu’s wishes and “destroying what is left of Israel’s democracy.” A coalition of protest groups urged Gantz and lawmakers from his party to refuse any compromise with the prime minister.
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Israel’s vaccine drive officially began on Sunday morning, with healthcare workers, President Reuven Rivlin, and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi set to receive the coronavirus shot throughout the day. Starting on Monday, Israelis aged 60-plus and at-risk populations will be able to get inoculated.
The government hopes to vaccinate some 60,000 people per day and as many as two million Israelis by the end of January. However, Hebrew media has reported that the first week would serve as a pilot program, tamping down expectations that hundreds of thousands of people would receive the vaccine within a matter of days.