JERUSALEM:Thousands of Israelis rallied outside the Knesset (parliament) building in Jerusalem as lawmakers gathered for marathon votes on a contested state budget. The demonstrators’ leadership criticised in a statement on Tuesday that the budget will allocate “an unprecedented” amount of money to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s allies, Jewish ultra-Orthodox and pro-settler parties. They chanted against “the plundering state budget” and lifted a banner reading: “Looters’ government.”
A series of votes in the parliament on the budget began on Tuesday evening, with the final vote expected to take place in the early morning hours of Wednesday, Xinhua news agency reported.
Speaking at the start of his coalition meeting in the Knesset, Netanyahu said: “Today we are passing a responsible budget.”
Centrist Leader of the Opposition, Yair Lapid, said in a televised statement that under the new budget, the government will allocate 14 billion shekels (about $3.8 billion) to Netanyahu’s political allies, ultra-Orthodox and pro-settler parties and organisations, instead of spending them on creating growth engines for the Israeli economy, welfare and fighting Israel’s skyrocketing cost of living. “This budget is a disaster for the country’s economy,” Lapid added. (IANS)
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