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Bennett says gov’t will serve its full term, promises stability from now on

“With quiet persistence and joint effort, we have steered the ship to safe shores,” the Israeli premier said. 

By World Israel News Staff

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett celebrated on Saturday evening the passing of the state budget for 2021 and 2022, promising “economic and political stability” from now on.

During a joint press conference held with Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman, Bennett said that the State of Israel has finally “completed the complex move of rescuing Israel from three years of instability.

“With quiet persistence and joint effort, we have steered the ship to safe shores,” he said, noting that his government “shifted to a policy of managing the country alongside the coronavirus without lockdowns” and managed, eventually, to beat the Delta wave.

“We moved from unemployment to employment, from negative growth following a very difficult economic year due to the pandemic and the lockdowns, to impressive growth of over 7%.

“And now we have passed the budget, which will ensure economic and political stability. With quiet persistence and joint effort, we have steered the ship to safe shores,” Bennett said.

He then thanked Lapid, “a partner and friend,” and Finance Minister Liberman, “who have done outstanding work.” Later asked about the rotation agreement that would see Lapid become prime minister in September 2023, Bennett said that the agreement would be fulfilled and that “the government will serve its full term.”

“Now we must look to the long list of tasks that awaits us, everyone in their sphere, and get to work,” he continued.

“The stability that we brought with the formation of the government and the passage of the budget, the fact that we are not in a fifth election campaign, is a blessing and a great gift for the State of Israel.

“Our next mission is to utilize this stability and deal with the challenges and problems that have been neglected for years: Housing costs, the traffic jams that are out of control, Israel’s infamous cost of living, the helplessness of the people in the face of rampaging crime, and the loss of governance in the Negev. Without delay, without despairing in advance, even if the tasks are great, and even if they take time – we will get started.

“Friends, tomorrow morning, with a stable government and an approved state budget, we are getting started,” Bennett concluded.