Minister in the war cabinet Benny Gantz threatened Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with "measures" if funding for extremist religious parties is not stopped in the new budget. Gantz requested on Sunday in an official message to Netanyahu the cancellation of all political financial allocations (funding for religious parties) from the proposed war budget, a move that signals a potential rift that may lead to the withdrawal of Gantz's centrist "Blue and White" party from the current war government in Israel.
Under Netanyahu's government, extremist religious parties are set to receive billions of dollars as part of the coalition agreement Netanyahu made with current Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and leaders of the religious parties. Smotrich requires 900 million shekels to finance settlement, programs for Jewish culture and identity, measures for asserting Israeli sovereignty over Area C in the West Bank, as well as support for radical Orthodox Jewish culture, among other items.
Gantz rejected the allocation of funds for the extremist coalition in the proposed Israeli war budget, stating that it is inappropriate to allocate money for purposes outside the war effort or to support the economy. Gantz indicated that his party will vote against the proposed budget and will consider its next steps if it is approved.
