Israel’s finance minister promised on Sunday the long awaited 2021 state budget would be ready in December amid accusations the government was dragging its heels for political reasons and after a third senior economic official quit in three months.
Failure to pass last year’s budget was a big factor in the unprecedented political turmoil in Israel that led to three elections in a year, the last one held in March.
Uncertainty regarding 2021’s budget has again threatened to topple Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fractious emergency government, which he formed with rivals to help the country weather the coronavirus crisis.
Finance Minister Israel Katz said they are now starting to prepare the 2021 budget with discussions in the coming days to determine budget goals and targets.
“The budget will address the need to deal with the continuing coronavirus pandemic as well as the need to lead the economy back to full employment and activity and growth,” Katz said in a statement.
