Israeli legislators pass budget in a move that shores up Netanyahu's government

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s parliament on Tuesday passed a state budget, a move that shores up Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition even as the embattled leader faces mounting public pressure over the war in Gaza and the hostage crisis.

The budget vote was seen as a key test for Netanyahu’s coalition, which is made up of ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox parties that had demanded and largely received hefty allocations for their constituents in exchange for supporting the funding package.

Failure to pass a budget by March 31 would have triggered early elections, potentially threatening Netanyahu's nearly unbroken 15-year rule.

Critics say the budget lacks much needed wartime funding for secular education, health and welfare. They accuse Netanyahu of channeling funding to his political allies to ensure his survival rather than thinking of the country’s best interests.

“The greatest theft in the country’s history officially begins,” opposition leader Yair Lapid said Monday, ahead of an hours-long, marathon debate in parliament on the budget. He said the middle class, including many reservists who have been fighting in Gaza, was being trampled for the sake of the coalition’s survival.

Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a key Netanyahu ally, said the budget had “everything needed to win on the front and at home.”

With its passing, Netanyahu's government is more likely to survive to the end of its term in October 2026, a rarity in Israel's fractious politics. It’s a political win for Netanyahu, who faces mass protests over his decision to resume the war in Gaza while hostages are still held by Hamas, and over his government’s recent moves to fire top legal and security chiefs.

In theory, Netanyahu now has more freedom to negotiate a lasting ceasefire with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. His allies, who want to continue the war, have little incentive to trigger new elections while their polling numbers are down, said Gayil Talshir, a political scientist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

But she expects Netanyahu to stick with his coalition partners and further their ultranationalist agenda to galvanize the right ahead of any future vote.

“Netanyahu is always thinking about the next elections,” Talshir said. “His goal is to make sure the extreme right will be in his government now and in the future.”

Netanyahu, who is on trial for alleged corruption, faces mass protests in Israel over his return to war, with 59 captives, 24 of whom are said to be alive, still in Gaza.

Demonstrators are also angry over Netanyahu’s firing of the head of the internal Shin Bet security agency and his government’s push to fire the attorney general. Both moves are seen by opponents as part of the government’s attempt to undermine state institutions and as part of Netanyahu’s crusade against a “deep state” that he says is out to get him.

Ahead of the budget vote, anti-government protests erupted outside the Knesset and police scuffled with demonstrators who blocked the entrances to the parliament.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Police officers remove people as they block a road for the Israeli parliament during an anti-government protest after the Israeli cabinet passed a no-confidence vote against the country's attorney general, taking a first step toward her dismissal, in Jerusalem, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Israeli servicemen remove people as they block a road for the Israeli parliament during an anti-government protest after the Israeli cabinet passed a no-confidence vote against the country's attorney general, taking a first step toward her dismissal, in Jerusalem, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Israeli police officers disperse demonstrators as they block a road leading to the Israeli parliament during an anti-government protest ahead of a key vote on the state budget in Jerusalem, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Israeli police officers disperse demonstrators as they block a road leading to the Israeli parliament during an anti-government protest ahead of a key vote on the state budget in Jerusalem, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

In this image made from a video released by the Israeli Government Press Office, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a statement Tuesday, March 18, 2025, in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Israeli Government Press Office via AP)

The Seattle Kraken fired coach Dan Bylsma on Monday, ending his tenure after one season that concluded far out of playoff contention.

And that’s not the only change coming after the Kraken failed to qualify for a second consecutive year.

Seattle is expected to move longtime general manager Ron Francis into another role and promote assistant Jason Botterill to replace him, according to a person with knowledge of the decision. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the change had not been announced.

The Kraken regressed after Bylsma took over for Dave Hakstol, who coached them for their first four seasons of existence and got them to the playoffs in 2023. They finished 35-41-6 for 76 points — 20 back of the second and final wild-card spot in the Western Conference — after 81 the previous season.

“We thank Dan for his commitment and the energy he brought to our organization over the past four years at the NHL and AHL levels,” Francis said. “After a thorough review of the season and our expectations for next year and beyond, we’ve made the difficult decision to move in a different direction behind the bench. Dan is a great person and a respected coach. He played an important role in the development of many of our young prospects and was a big part of our early success in Coachella Valley. We sincerely wish him and his family nothing but success moving forward.”

Bylsma had been promoted from within after coaching the American Hockey League’s Coachella Valley Firebirds to back-to-back Calder Cup Finals before losing to Hershey. He won the Stanley Cup as Pittsburgh's coach in 2009 and remained with the Penguins through 2014, winning the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year in 2011.

This was his third head-coaching job in the NHL after an ill-fated two-year stint with the Buffalo Sabres from 2015-17. Bylsma is the third coach fired in as many days after Anaheim moved on from Greg Cronin and the New York Rangers dismissed Peter Laviolette.

Francis had been GM since the team’s inception, responsible for the expansion draft and everything else in hockey operations, including hiring and firing coaches. He got a three-year contract extension in '23 after the Kraken reached the second round.

Taking over for Francis, Botterill is now in charge of finding a coach and repairing a roster that lacks elite talent. It'll be Botterill's second GM job in the league after he ran the Sabres from 2017-20.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL

Seattle Kraken head coach Dan Bylsma speaks during a postgame press conference after an NHL hockey game against the Los Angeles Kings, Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)