Israeli parliament passes budget, clearing key hurdle

By ILAN BEN ZION
Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s parliament has passed a national budget for the first time in three years, avoiding a November deadline that would have triggered fresh elections. The marathon overnight voting on budget bills in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, ended on Thursday. It was a major hurdle for the new government headed by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, whose fractious coalition holds a narrow majority. Bennett celebrated on Twitter, writing that “after years of chaos — we formed a government, we overcame the Delta variant, and now, thank God, we passed a budget for Israel.”