Israeli Supreme Court Halts Controversial Coalition Budget Transfers Amid Election Recess Dispute

The Israeli Supreme Court convened on Tuesday to hear a petition filed by Hadash and MK Naama Lazimi against the Finance Committee's meeting during the election recess and the approval of budget transfers totaling approximately 462 million shekels. The transfers included coalition funds and were authorized on August 4, despite opposition objections and without presenting the speaker of the Knesset's approval decision to committee members. The hearing was conducted by Justices Mintz, Kabub, and Ronen, who questioned the legitimacy of the budget items, noting that some did not qualify as "special cases" and thus should not have been discussed during the recess.

Attorney Dr. Yifat Solel, representing the petitioners, criticized the budget moves, likening them to placing matzah on a Passover table and claiming the entire table is kosher. The court suggested releasing only urgent funds and returning the rest to the Finance Ministry for prioritization. Near the session's end, the Finance Minister, through the prosecution, urged the court to avoid splitting the budget requests and to decide immediately whether to uphold or lift the interim injunction freezing all funds.

The budget transfers were approved amid the election recess despite opposition resistance, with the Finance Committee convening under the Knesset speaker's authorization, which was not disclosed to committee members. Following the petition, Judge Alex Stein issued an interim injunction freezing the funds. The court's final ruling is pending.

Dr. Solel condemned the Finance Minister's stance as "mafia-like," accusing the government of unlawfully diverting hundreds of millions of public funds to favored sectors. MK Naama Lazimi echoed this, accusing the Finance Minister of holding critical budgets hostage as election bribes and criticized Smotrich for attempting to intimidate the court. Lazimi emphasized the need to uphold Knesset procedures and prevent public funds from becoming a private bank for coalition parties.