Netanyahu forced to arrive in Knesset for key vote despite hospitalization

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to vote in person on Tuesday in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, saving a necessary budget bill.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir came under fire by coalition lawmakers for joining the opposition in voting against the measure. The lack of enough votes prompted Netanyahu to leave the hospital, where he is recovering from prostate surgery, against the advice of his doctors. Likud lawmaker Boaz Bismuth, whose mother recently passed away, was also forced to leave her shiva (seven-day mourning period usually held in the home of the deceased) to cast his vote.

The specific bill, a key part of the larger budget, amends existing tax laws that allow companies and professional associations (such as doctors, lawyers, accountants, etc.) to accumulate profits without distributing them, thus saving on dividend tax. The existing law allows for the deferral of tax payments and the retention of profits for future investments, but over the years it has also been used for tax planning that has resulted in huge savings for partners in those companies.

Ben Gvir slammed Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich for refusing to move forward in budget talks, calling it "a direct attack on police officers and guards. It is a reckless and vindictive budget, which will directly result in a reduction in the number of police officers, the closure of police stations, the cancellation of the purchase of fire trucks, the halting of the construction of prison cells, the stopping of the absorption of terrorists, and more. The price of the Finance Ministry's abuse of these security forces will, unfortunately, be felt by every citizen."

Lawmakers from the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism party abstained from the vote.