Israeli Parliament Seeks High Court Rejection of Petition Against Controversial 462 Million Shekel Budget Transfers During Election Recess

The Israeli Knesset has requested the Supreme Court to dismiss a petition challenging the approval of approximately 462 million shekels in coalition funds during the election recess. On August 4, the Knesset Finance Committee convened under the authorization of Knesset legal advisor and Speaker Amir Ohana, approving budget transfers earmarked for religious institutions, ultra-Orthodox education, Jewish culture, settlement divisions, and mission-oriented groups in the West Bank.

The petition, filed by the NGO Adalah and Knesset member Naama Lazimi, argues that convening the Finance Committee during the election recess violated parliamentary rules, especially since the Committee of Agreements did not approve the meeting due to opposition from opposition member Merav Ben Ari. However, the Finance Committee chairman sought and received approval from the Speaker to hold the session under a special provision allowing committee meetings during recess in exceptional cases. The Knesset's response emphasizes that this procedure is not unprecedented, citing similar meetings during the 24th Knesset's election recess.

The transfers include 268 million shekels for religious education and projects, 16.49 million for summer school programs, and about 78 million for Jewish culture and settlement support in Judea and Samaria. Government ministries justified the urgency of these funds for security, education, religious services, and settlement activities. The Knesset legal advisor approved only six of thirteen budget requests as urgent, which were then fully approved by the Finance Committee.

Opposition members contested the legality of the meeting and the inclusion of coalition funds, but the Knesset argued that budget requests cannot be split and that all underwent full governmental legal review. The Knesset also stressed that the Supreme Court rarely intervenes in internal parliamentary decisions and that no procedural flaw justifies judicial interference in this case. The court hearing is scheduled for Tuesday before Justices David Mintz, Khaled Kabub, and Ruth Ronen, with a temporary injunction currently delaying the fund transfers.