Seven months since the new government was formed, the Speaker of the Knesset, MK Miki Levy, this evening (Wednesday) submitted the letters of appointment for the establishment of the Knesset Ethics Committee.
"This is a reality-bound move for the proper conduct of the Knesset, which has so far been avoided due to the stubborn refusal of opposition members," Levy said. immediately".
The committee will be headed by MK Yurai Lahav-Herzno (Yesh Atid), and will be joined by MK Gila Gamliel (Likud), MK Zvika Hauser (New Hope) and MK Yaakov Margi (Shas) - who only heard today For the first time, they are members of the committee. The substitutes will be MK Osama Saadi (joint list) and MK Sharon Rofa-Ofir (Yisrael Beiteinu).
Speaker of the Knesset: "This is the first step in returning the Knesset to proper conduct.
Since the inauguration of the 24th Knesset, I have worked tirelessly for the full integration of the opposition in the work of the Knesset, including the integration of its representatives in the Ethics Committee, which is important for the functioning of the House.
I acted patiently and patiently, despite the personal pressures and attacks against me, in order to exhaust this move whose purpose was to preserve the democratic rules of the game.
"After the budget was transferred, I again asked all the leaders of the opposition factions, in writing and in personal meetings, to staff the ethics committee. Unfortunately, I encountered a stubborn and incomprehensible refusal that left me no other choices.
The status of the Knesset Ethics Committee is different from the status of other Knesset committees, and it does not deal with legislation but constitutes a judicial committee.
The committee judges Knesset members for ethical offenses, such as non-parliamentary statements.
The meeting, for example, in which MK Ayman Odeh physically assaulted MK Itamar Ben Gvir in a hospital, is the kind of case discussed by the committee.