The government transferred and spent public funds before receiving the required approval of the Knesset Finance Committee, creating cumulative budget overruns totaling approximately 69 million shekels, according to a report by Maariv based on Budget Department documents.
The transfers were carried out despite the High Court’s previous ruling in the so-called “Billion-Shekel Case” and explicit instructions issued by the Knesset’s legal adviser. Two budget requests submitted shortly before the Knesset’s dissolution reportedly sought retroactive approval for changes that had already been implemented.
The largest overrun involved the Regional Grants program, which provides funding to local authorities in the Gaza border region, Judea and Samaria, and the Northern District. The Budget Department acknowledged that the program exceeded its approved budget by approximately 67 million shekels. According to the documents, the overrun resulted from the timing of the Budget Law’s approval, and the spending was covered by increasing the program’s budget using 2025 budget surpluses before the Finance Committee granted the required approval.
Two additional overruns totaled 1.4 million shekels. The Miscellaneous Expenses program, which includes compensation for families of Yemenite immigrants, exceeded its approved budget by 1 million shekels because of the timing of payments committed in advance. The Financial Activity program, which funds assistance for people denied access to credit, exceeded its budget by 400,000 shekels because the original amount approved by the Tenders Committee was insufficient for its operations.
The High Court ruled in March that transferring funds to Chareidi institutions without a formal Finance Committee decision was unlawful. During the proceedings, the Finance Ministry acknowledged that funds had been transferred illegally but argued that the practice had become routine. The petitioners also demanded that the Finance Committee receive full information regarding funds that should be deducted from Chareidi institutions that failed to meet core curriculum requirements.
Responding to the latest findings, MK Vladimir Beliak (Yesh Atid–Beyachad), the opposition’s representative on the Finance Committee, said: “Moments before the Knesset is dissolved, the coalition is raiding the state treasury in violation of the law and transferring funds without the committee’s approval. This is what the past four years have looked like, and we will fix it in the next government.”
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