Members of the two haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties - Shas and United Torah Judaism - weighed their stance throughout Wednesday on how to vote ahead of the Knesset’s first reading of the 2026 state budget.
The Degel Hatorah faction within United Torah Judaism received a green light from spiritual leader Rabbi Dov Lando to vote in favor of the state budget, Lando's office said.
Shortly afterward, the discussion in the plenum began ahead of the vote, after delays from the coalition throughout the day.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich gave opening remarks, speaking in favor of the state budget.
"Israel will become a lot stronger," he said. The heart of this budget is directed toward reservists."
By law, if the state budget is not approved in all three readings by the end of March, when the fiscal year closes, the Knesset will automatically dissolve, and elections will be called.
The vote comes amid the ongoing crisis in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition over the controversial haredi draft law.
The agreement to give the green light by Lando was made on the condition that the draft law be completed before the state budget is brought for second and third reading in the Knesset.
It followed meetings with the haredi parties and Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairperson, MK Boaz Bismuth, regarding the haredi draft law on Wednesday afternoon.
The spiritual leader would only determine his stance on how the faction should vote after the meetings were conducted, Lando's office said.
Netanyahu also arrived at the Knesset in the afternoon amid the negotiations.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) said that the meetings "behind the scenes of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee are simply completely outrageous."
"This is bargaining over the security of the State of Israel, with the encouragement of Netanyahu," he added.
Meanwhile, the coalition added several bills to the plenum schedule for debate without a vote ahead of the state budget vote, using them as a delay tactic as the negotiations with the haredi parties continue.
The vote on the state budget has already been delayed significantly.
It was originally scheduled to take place on Monday, but was postponed to Wednesday at the last minute due to disagreements over the haredi draft bill.
Haredi political figures have pushed for a framework that would continue to exempt yeshiva students from mandatory IDF service.
Current draft bill fails to enforce haredi conscription
Critics of the draft bill outline argue that the current version fails to enforce haredi conscription and serves primarily as a political measure to appease the haredi parties. The IDF has repeatedly said it is in urgent need of more manpower, especially after over two years of war.
Both haredi parties have threatened to withhold support for the state budget unless agreements are reached on the draft law to avoid conscription. They have also threatened to vote against the state budget if the haredi draft bill is not passed beforehand.
Netanyahu has been left without a stable coalition majority since July, following the collapse of negotiations over the haredi conscription legislation, which led haredi parties to exit the government.
If the haredi parties vote in favor of the budget’s first reading, contradicting their earlier threats, it would grant the government additional time to finalize the haredi draft legislation before the budget’s final readings in March.
The state budget's first reading comprises a series of bills, which are all stated to be voted on Wednesday evening, with debates and negotiations likely to continue until late into the night.
The first bill to be voted on is the outline of the 2026 budget. The second bill will determine a deficit reduction.
The third and fourth bills call for a series of legislative amendments to facilitate the new budget.