Knesset Approves Temporary Committees, Lieberman to Head Foreign Affairs

The Knesset's Arrangements Committee has approved the establishment of two temporary committees: one for finance and another for foreign affairs and security. MK Liran Avishar Ben-Horin of the "B'Yachad" party was recommended to chair the temporary finance committee, while MK Avigdor Lieberman of "Yisrael Beiteinu" will head the temporary foreign affairs and security committee. Each committee will consist of 17 members. The vote in the Arrangements Committee saw 13 members in favor and nine against.

Earlier, the plenum approved the composition of the Arrangements Committee itself, with 63 members supporting the proposal and 50 opposing it. MK Roi Folkman, from the "Yesh" faction, will chair this committee, which will have 22 members. Folkman emphasized the importance of establishing these committees responsibly and with mutual respect, stating, "Politics good in my eyes is pragmatic politics. Decorum is something that cannot be legislated, but there are norms and there are laws. I offered MK Katz agreements on the composition, I am a man of agreements. Not agreeing for the sake of not agreeing is unnecessary and a shame to create tensions for no reason."

MK Avishar Ben-Horin addressed concerns about potential conflicts of interest due to her previous work at Keystone Company and her husband's role in a public relations firm representing major economic companies. She stated that while government conflict of interest rules do not apply in the Knesset, she is prepared to adhere to the strictest standards and will recuse herself if necessary.

The Arrangements Committee's composition was determined by factional proportionality, with a minimum of one representative per faction of four or more members. An earlier attempt to agree on the committee's makeup on Monday failed. Folkman's proposal, which passed, allocates seats as follows: Likud (5), Yesh (4), B'Yachad (2), Joint List (2), Democrats (2), Ra'am (2), and one member each for Yisrael Beiteinu, Otzma Yehudit, United Torah Judaism, Shas, and Religious Zionism. MK Ofir Katz of the Likud faction had proposed a different structure, which he argued was more equitable, and accused the opposing bloc of attempting to conceal cooperation with "supporters of terrorism."

The Arrangements Committee is responsible for approving the composition of the Knesset's permanent committees. Until then, it can establish temporary committees and assume the powers of the Knesset's internal affairs and debate committees, as well as appoint temporary deputy Knesset speakers.