The date for the 2026 state budget to be brought for government approval has been set for December 4.
After passing the first hurdle of government approval, the budget proposal will still need to be brought to the Knesset’s plenum for three separate readings before it is finalized.
The government's budget discussion is expected to last many hours, beginning in the morning and continuing late into the night.
The process of passing the state budget has the power to determine whether or not the country will undergo early elections.
By law, if the state budget is not approved by the end of March, marking the end of the fiscal year, the Knesset is dissolved and elections are declared.
The current election date is set for October 2026.
The process of approving the state budget may face political challenges after the two haredi parties in the government resigned, and have yet to return, in the fallout of negotiations over the controversial haredi conscription bill in July.
Budget 2026 to be discussed amid internal tensions
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich also clashed with the Defense Ministry on Tuesday over the country's 2026 security budget.
The Finance Ministry aims to rein in defense spending, with the Gaza war seemingly over.
By press time on Tuesday, neither the Finance nor the Defense Ministry had actually thoroughly clarified what their budget cut-off number was for 2026, despite requests for clarification.
However, it appeared the Defense Ministry wanted NIS 144 billion, including standard annual funding plus post-October 7 special additional funding. In contrast, the Finance Ministry wanted to get the budget down closer to NIS 130b.
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.