Knesset Approves Key Committee With Arab Party Representation, Thwarting Likud Bid

The Israeli Knesset approved the composition of the Arrangements Committee on Wednesday with a 63-50 vote, a strategic parliamentary body tasked with organizing the new legislative session's work. This decision represents a setback for Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, which had sought to limit the representation of Arab parties on the committee. The approved proposal, put forth by MK Roy Folkman of Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar party, establishes a 22-member committee. The bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot and the bloc supporting Benjamin Netanyahu will each have nine representatives, while the United Arab List and Ra'am will receive four seats. Roy Folkman will chair the committee. The committee's distribution allocates seats based on a ratio of one representative per five Knesset members to reflect the various factions' weight. The Likud will receive five seats, Yashar four, and Ensemble, the United Arab List, Democrats, and Ra'am will each get two representatives. Israel Beiteinu, Otzma Yehudit, United Torah Judaism, Shas, and Religious Zionism will each have one seat. Previously, Likud MK Ofir Katz had proposed a ratio of one representative per four parliamentarians, which would have resulted in a 31-member committee with 15 seats for the pro-Netanyahu bloc, 12 for the opposition bloc, and four for Arab parties. This larger proposal was rejected. Another rejected proposal would have given eight seats to the Netanyahu camp, seven to Eisenkot's camp, and only three to Arab parties, a distribution criticized as discriminatory. The Arrangements Committee holds significant power during the transition period, including determining the composition of permanent committees, establishing temporary finance, foreign affairs, and defense committees, overseeing parliamentary procedures, and appointing temporary Knesset vice-presidents.