The Knesset is set to vote on the 2026 state budget Sunday in second and third readings, with coalition lawmakers expected to secure its passage.

While debate began in the Knesset plenum on Sunday morning, the actual vote may not be held until early Monday, as opposition lawmakers continue to filibuster and delay the vote.

The coalition has until Tuesday to pass the budget to meet the legally mandated March 31 deadline — the same day the Knesset begins its spring recess, with activity not set to resume until May 10.

Under the law, if the government fails to pass the budget by the end of March the Knesset will automatically dissolve, triggering early elections three months later. Elections are currently scheduled for late October.

The budget authorizes government spending of roughly NIS 850.6 billion ($271 billion) for the 2026 fiscal year.

By far the largest allocation in the budget is directed to defense. That part was already approved last week by a joint panel of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee and the Finance Committee (due to the sensitive nature of defense spending, the defense budget is not voted on by the full Knesset plenum).

The defense budget includes more than NIS 30 billion ($9.5 billion) in additional wartime funding, bringing the Defense Ministry’s total allocation to NIS 143 billion ($45.8 billion), as well as NIS 22 billion ($7 billion) in income-dependent expenditure — conditioned upon mainly US grants — as well as NIS 82.2 billion ($26.3 billion) for long-term spending commitments to be paid in future years.

Other major spending items in the general budget include nearly NIS 97 billion ($30.9 billion) for education, plus about NIS 14.9 billion for higher education ($4.7 billion); some NIS 64 billion ($20.3 billion) for the National Insurance Institute;........

© The Times of Israel