On Tuesday, Speaker of the Knesset MK Amir Ohana (Likud) updated Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich that he had decided to make a third cutback in the Knesset’s budget since the start of his term. The cutback, in the amount of NIS 125 million, will be turned over to the state treasury.
This cutback of NIS 125 million from the Knesset budget for 2025 joins two previous cutbacks decided upon by the Speaker of the Knesset—one in the amount of NIS 80 million, which was made in November 2023, and another in the amount of NIS 121 million, which was made in January 2024 for the benefit of the war effort.
The total amount of cutbacks from the Knesset budget since the start of the Twenty-Fifth Knesset stands at NIS 326 million.
The issue will be turned over to the Joint committee for the Knesset Budget for approval and implementation. Knesset officials said that this cutback would not harm the Knesset’s vital ongoing activity, and stated that the principles with regard to the independence of the Knesset’s budget and the separation of powers would be maintained.
Speaker of the Knesset MK Ohana: “The Knesset is committed, not only as a legislature but also as an institution and an organization, to assist the state in its economic effort. My policy is to cut back on public funds as much as possible and to return them to the Ministry of Finance, so that [the funds] will return to the citizens and serve for rehabilitation of the localities harmed during the war.”
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