Israel's Ultra-Orthodox Parties Help Approve More Funding for War

A general view shows the Knesset, Israel's parliament in Jerusalem July 24, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
A general view shows the Knesset, Israel's parliament in Jerusalem July 24, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
TT

Israel's Ultra-Orthodox Parties Help Approve More Funding for War

A general view shows the Knesset, Israel's parliament in Jerusalem July 24, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
A general view shows the Knesset, Israel's parliament in Jerusalem July 24, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Israeli lawmakers gave their initial approval on Monday to raising the 2024 budget framework to help fund reservists and assist people displaced as a result of the war in Gaza, with support coming from ultra-Orthodox parties.

The vote to add 3.4 billion shekels ($906 million) to the 2024 budget passed by a 58-52 margin, the Finance Ministry said.

Ultra-Orthodox parties had threatened to boycott votes in parliament in a dispute over funding for their separate education system.

The bill still needs to pass two more votes to become law, according to Reuters.

The rift with ultra-Orthodox parties is a test of the unity of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government as Israel presses on with its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip following the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7 last year.

The two religious parties, which occupy 18 of parliament's 120 seats, said last week they would not participate in plenum votes until the government agreed that schools in their separate education system should receive the same benefits as state-run schools -- especially their "New Horizon" program which adds school hours and sharply boosts teacher pay.

A spokesman for Moshe Gafni, leader of one of the ultra-Orthodox parties, said the faction had decided to vote for the budget this time. It was not clear about voting in future votes.

"The budget adjustments will enable the conditions required for the continuous continuation of the war against those who seek our harm," said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who criticised those who voted against.

"It would be good if the members of the opposition would join in with national responsibility and vote in favor of continuing to fund the evacuees and reservists - this is a war for all of us together."

Israel has called up reservists up during the Gaza war, and tens of thousands of Israelis have been displaced from homes in the north by rocket fire from the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.



Iran Ministry Protests over Arrests in US of its Nationals

The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
TT

Iran Ministry Protests over Arrests in US of its Nationals

The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner The Iranian flag waves in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters, before the beginning of a board of governors meeting, in Vienna, Austria, March 1, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

Iran has summoned the Swiss ambassador in Tehran, who represents US interests in the country, and a senior Italian diplomat over the arrest by the US of two Iranian nationals this week, Iranian media reported on Saturday.

US prosecutors charged the two men on Monday with illegally exporting sensitive technology to Iran that they said was used in a January drone attack in Jordan that killed three US service members, Reuters reported.

The US blamed Iran-backed militants for the attack. Iran said at the time it was not involved.

Federal prosecutors in Boston identified the men as Mohammad Abedini, the co-founder of an Iranian-based company, and Mahdi Sadeghi, an employee of Massachusetts-based semiconductor manufacturer Analog Devices.

Abedini, a resident of both Switzerland and Iran, was arrested in Italy at the request of the US government. Sadeghi, an Iranian-born naturalized US citizen, lives in Natick, Massachusetts.

“We consider these arrests in violation of international law,” Iranian media quoted the foreign ministry as saying, adding that the Swiss ambassador and the Italian charge d'affaires were asked to pass on Iran’s protest.