Israeli Finance Committee to Approve Over 340 Million Shekels in Coalition Funding for Settlements and Sectoral Budgets
The Israeli Finance Committee is set to approve the transfer of hundreds of millions of shekels in coalition funds on Wednesday, allocating money to various sectoral ministries and some deemed "unnecessary." Among the proposed allocations is 170.2 million shekels in expenditures and an additional 400 million shekels in credit authorization to the Ministry of Science, Culture, and Sports. Of this, 90.2 million shekels are coalition funds earmarked for specific cultural and sports activities, including 3.8 million for Torah research institutes, 26.6 million for public cultural institutions, 34.9 million for municipal cultural programs, 4.4 million for Olympic preparations, 15.4 million for sports, and 4.8 million for the 2026 Maccabiah Games.
The Ministry of Education is proposed to receive 816 million shekels for summer camps, including 16.5 million shekels in coalition funds requested by the Shas party for camps in ultra-Orthodox exempt institutions. Additionally, 38.6 million shekels will be allocated to coordinate government activities in the West Bank, funding various civil administration functions such as land supervision, demolition of illegal construction, mining oversight, water theft prevention, nature reserve protection, archaeological site preservation, and regional development.
The committee will also consider transferring 63 million shekels to the Ministry of Heritage and 209.9 million shekels plus 132.3 million in credit authorization to the Ministry of Settlement. Of this, 114.8 million shekels are designated for the Settlement Division, the government's operational arm in the territories. Opposition members Vladimir Beliak and Naor Shiri from the Yesh Atid party have demanded that the Knesset legal advisor halt the transfer of 117 million shekels in coalition funds to the Ministry of Settlement, led by Minister Ayelet Shaked of the Religious Zionism party, citing concerns over potential political misuse during the election period.
