Contentious budget vote could push Israel toward elections

Israel's finance minister said Thursday he would bring a short-term budget up for a vote next week, setting up a showdown between the bloated government's main two coalition partners that could spark its dissolution only months after it was formed. Israel Katz, of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party, said that given the current economic crisis following the outbreak of the coronavirus, it would be imprudent to insist upon a multi-year budget as outlined in the coalition agreement.