The cabinet on Wednesday approved by near majority the 2009-2010 state budget. Twenty-six ministers voted in favor of the deal, while all four Shas ministers voted against it.
The budget includes a 6.5% cut to all government ministries, including a roughly NIS 1.5 billion (nearly $400 million) cut in the defense budget.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lauded the budgets approval, saying that ministers were able to "find the balance between socioeconomic needs and security needs."
"We prevented harm to the weak sectors of society, as we promised," he said.
Only Shas' four ministers voted against the budget, despite earlier threats by Yisrael Beiteinu to also object to the cuts. Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar, who also expressed doubts regarding his vote, ended up supporting the decision. The budget will now have to be approved by the Knesset.
