Overview

• Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is refusing to divert funds for West Bank settlements to the war effort, causing a rift with his coalition partners.
• The current budget includes a 900 million shekels (£191 million) portion for the development of illegal settlements in the West Bank, as well as 200 million for education and cultural projects for the country’s ultra-Orthodox community.
• Opposition parties and War Cabinet minister Benny Gantz have criticized Smotrich's spending on controversial projects, arguing it harms national resilience and unity.
• EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, expressed his disapproval of the Israeli government's commitment to new funds towards West Bank settlements in the middle of a war, calling it a grave breach of international human rights law.
• The budget dispute comes at a sensitive time as Israel seeks to mobilize international support for the war in Gaza, and the continual expansion of Jewish settlements into land the Palestinians want as the core of a future independent state has caused unease among countries friendly to Israel.