Harris campaign reports spending nearly three times as much as Trump in August
New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens freed from captivity in Indonesia's Papua
Sri Lanka has more women voters than men but no female presidential candidates
Israel-Hamas war latest: Israel claims death of Hezbollah commander as Beirut toll rises
Biden is putting personal touch on Asia-Pacific diplomacy in his final months in office
AI is helping shape the 2024 presidential race. But not in the way experts feared
Japan's Icom: highly unlikely wireless devices that exploded in Lebanon are our products
The Midwest could offer fall’s most electric foliage but leaf peepers elsewhere won’t miss out
Phillies clinch 3rd straight playoff berth and close in on NL East title
Wojnarowski one of the first significant sports 'insiders' to step away from the spotlight
By Steven Scheer
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - 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.
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" programme 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 favour 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.
($1 = 3.7530 shekels)
(Reporting by Steven Scheer, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
