Last Friday, the Israeli Knesset decided to approve the draft General Budget of the Israeli occupation for 2022 in the second and final reading one day after it succeeded to approve the budget of 2021. The deliberations and voting have continued with the first reading and discussions since the morning of last Tuesday until it was approved at Friday dawn. Thus, passing the two budgets came by a simple majority after the opposition parties, led by the Likud party, had voted in favor of undermining the decision.

Voting for the General Budget of the Israeli occupation is the first since March 2018, when the last budget for the entity was approved during the term of Benjamin Netanyahu. That was before he took office in a tense state that led him to go through four elections, which ended by Neftali Bennett ascending to the throne of the 36th Israeli government, which consists of a distinguished mixture of right, left, secular, and Arab components.

Consequently, Bennett could end the biggest practical threat, which might have led to the collapse of his government. If he failed to approve the budget, his government might have been dropped as well as there might have been calls for new elections. Accordingly, Netanyahu and his party lost the chance to go back to challenge Bennett's government and meet again in front of the funds in a scene that is repeated for the 5th time during 3 years in a row.

 

Analysis and Insight of the Scene:

• The approval of the General Budget of the Israeli occupation, under the government of Naftali Bennett, indicates his ability to continue and challenge his political opponents.
• The approval of the Israeli occupation's budget for 2021 eliminates the threat posed to dissolve the Knesset and connects it to 2022's budget. It also prolongs the life of the current government, led by Bennett, until, at least, 2022.
• Benjamin Netanyahu's failure to drop Bennett's government, through attempts to deactivate the budget law, is painful, phased defeat amid a long-term war between the two parties.
• Bennett's government could surpass its ideological and intellectual differences and insist on challenging its opponent, Netanyahu, to make sure he will not appear again at the front of the political scene at any price.
• Bennett realizes Netanyahu's power and his wide-scale internal and external circle of relations. Thus, he seeks to present himself through attending meetings with the leaders of the great Powers, participating in big international conferences, and taking part in any kind of successes that might strengthen his political presence.
• After the approval of the General Budget of the Israeli occupation, Bennett's government has to get rid of the inner contradictions among its different components. Thus, it seems that it realizes this goal, and seeks to achieve it.

Situation Report:

Based on the abovementioned analyses, the expected scenarios are:

1. Naftali Bennet's government might continue to run the Israeli political scene. This scenario is supported by its ability to surpass its inner differences and its unity in challenging its opponent, Netanyahu, who seeks, with all his might, to fight and drop Bennett's government. Also, the governmental parties of the coalition realize that their current chance to take office in the Israeli government is golden as it might not happen again.
2. Bennett's government might fail to continue. What supports this scenario is Netanyahu's and his party's ongoing, arbitrary campaign to take advantage of any chance that would lead to the collapse of Bennett's government and the Knesset, and the appearance of calls to new elections.

Generally, the first scenario is more likely to happen. It is supported by the attempts of the leaders of the governing coalition to prove their abilities to compensate for the absence of Netanyahu and to be good alternatives to run the Israeli political administration.