Tel Aviv, March 25 -- Israeli lawmakers approved a roughly NIS 755 billion (USD 206 billion) state budget, Israel's largest ever, after a marathon session on Tuesday

The budget passed its final readings by a vote 66-52.

Addressing the Knesset plenum before the voting, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the budget "will support growth and allow the Israeli economy to maintain its strength and continue to prosper."

He added, "This is a war budget. And with God's help, it will also be the victory budget."

Approval took several hours because there were hundreds of votes on specific items and reservations.

The government was under pressure to finalize the budget before the legal deadline at the end of the month. By law, the Knesset mu...