Knesset to convene over PM’s policies

Rivlin says legislature will also discuss findings of Trajtenberg Committee during summer recess.

By LAHAV HARKOV
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu dark 311 (R) (photo credit: Avi Ohayon / GPO)
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu dark 311 (R)
(photo credit: Avi Ohayon / GPO)
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.