Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin announced on Monday that a special Knesset meeting
would be scheduled for next week, following the request of opposition factions
and over 50 MKs.
Kadima led the effort to call the session, asking that a
Knesset discussion titled “The Netanyahu government is leading Israel to
diplomatic isolation” be held during the summer recess. The party also called
for a meeting on social and economic issues, saying the government “does not
care about the protests and the demands for social justice in the State of
Israel.”
“[Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu is causing Israel to fall
into the diplomatic and social abyss,” a Kadima spokesman said. “Israel’s
situation is only getting worse, and the Knesset must discuss the dangers that
Netanyahu’s policies are creating for the state and its citizens.”
Rivlin
also announced on Monday that the Knesset would hold an additional special
meeting during the recess to discuss the Trajtenberg Committee’s conclusions,
when they are released in the coming weeks.
Rivlin explained that the
meeting comes in response to a request from MK Miri Regev (Likud), who said the
committee’s recommendations are “first and foremost in the public’s
interest.”
“The Knesset – specifically the Finance Committee – is closely
following the Trajtenberg Committee’s meetings,” the Knesset Speaker
explained. “Without a doubt, we must give our opinions on the deep
economic and social consequences of the committee’s conclusions.
“We will
be sure to hold a public discourse on the report, when it is published, here in
the Knesset, in a special meeting during the summer recess,” he said.
The
14-member committee led by Prof. Manuel Trajtenberg is meant to present to the
government ways to lessen the financial burden on citizens, in response to
widespread protests.