The debate on the bill prohibiting the police from publishing its conclusions at the end of investigations will continue until it is voted on two days from now, with legislators expecting it to lead to the temporary cancellation of Knesset committees.
Three-day discussions over the contentious recommendations bill have paralyzed the Knesset’s work this week, with parliamentary committee meetings canceled until Wednesday night.
The legislation, which seeks to bar police from publicly releasing its recommendations to the State Attorney’s Office on indictments, was set to go to a vote in its second and third readings on Monday, but after the opposition submitted over a 1,000 reservations to the bill, forcing a prolonged discussion, the vote was pushed until Wednesday night.
So far, meetings of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, the Internal Affairs and Environment Committee and the Special Committee on Drug Abuse scheduled for Tuesday were all canceled in anticipation of the lengthy discussions on the bill.
The Knesset Presidium, which includes representatives from both the coalition and opposition coming together to plan the parliament’s schedule, had a tense meeting on Monday morning.
Newly-appointed coalition head David Amsalem insisted to determine in advance the exact time for votes under article 98 of the Knesset Rules of Procedure. This would allow the coalition to be prepared for the vote and ensure its members are in the plenum on time.
But Zionist Union MK Yoel Hasson told Amsalem this was unacceptable, as one of the only measures left to the opposition to combat legislative moves are the speeches in the plenum and the ability to have a bill go to a vote in an undetermined time so as to catch the coalition off guard.
Amsalem, meanwhile, claimed he would not have Knesset members “sleeping at the Knesset with their shoes on, or in sleeping bags,” and tried to negotiate a compromise on an agreed upon time for the vote.
This led to an argument, at the end of which it was decided Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein will allow for three days of discussions on the legislation as the opposition asked, while the vote will be held on Wednesday.
As part of the opposition’s fight against the bill, MK Yoel Hasson has called on Israeli citizens to write speeches against the recommendations bill for Zionist Union members to read one after another into the night.
“Do you also think David Amsalem cares only about the recommendations bill? Are you tired of Netanyahu only focusing on political survival? This evening, you too can tell them what you think, from the podium. Send a WhatsApp message to 054-7709906 and your words would be launched into the plenum through the MKs speaking at the podium.”
As reported by Ynetnews