Israel’s parliament passes amended budget as Gaza war continues

The Israeli parliament has passed a revised state budget for 2024 aimed at financing the ongoing conflict with Hamas in Gaza. The updated budget, totaling around 584 billion shekels (approximately $161 billion), marks a significant increase of 70 billion shekels from the original budget approved in the previous year. Defense spending alone will see a boost of 55 billion shekels. The fiscal plan anticipates a deficit of 6.6 percent of gross domestic product. To support these measures, budgets across all government ministries have been reduced. Additionally, the budget includes revenue-boosting measures such as taxing bank profits and reducing convalescence payments for employees, in agreement with the largest Israeli workers’ union, Histadrut.

Source – CGTN