Legal Advisor Declares Nighttime Finance Committee Votes Illegal Amid Procedural Breach

A sharp dispute erupted between Knesset Finance Committee Chair Hanoch Milwitsky and the committee's legal advisor, attorney Shlomit Erlich, following late-night budget transfer votes held on June 29, 2026. In a strongly worded letter sent to Milwitsky, the Knesset legal counsel, and the Finance Ministry legal advisor, Erlich declared the discussions and votes illegal and invalid due to serious procedural violations.

Erlich accused Milwitsky of deliberately breaching established work protocols, undermining the committee's function, procedural integrity, and public transparency, especially critical as the current Knesset session nears its end. Central to the conflict was budget request number 100 concerning the Prime Minister's Office, which the Finance Ministry submitted around 11 p.m. the previous night without the legally required legal opinion, government decisions, budget history, or detailed program information.

The committee's 2015 rules mandate that budget requests be distributed two days before discussion, following legal review and completion of missing details. Milwitsky bypassed this by publishing the request prematurely and initially stated he would not bring it to a vote, only to reverse course and approve it, prompting opposition members to walk out in protest. Consequently, the legal advisor ruled the vote invalid.

Additional illegalities were found in budget request 18-002, involving nearly 971 million shekels in local authority surpluses transferred from 2025 to 2026. This request included unauthorized budget overruns and lacked necessary explanations and legal compliance, violating government fiscal rules. Erlich had already warned the Finance Ministry legal advisor on May 27, 2026, about the request's serious legal flaws.

Similarly, budget request 21, resubmitted on June 29, 2026, showed unexplained overruns in compensation payments and credit fund activities. Milwitsky again ordered its publication and voting without proper legal review or required documentation, contrary to standard procedures. Erlich emphasized that any future votes on this request must address these deficiencies and be conducted anew with full compliance.

The legal advisor's letter underscores significant procedural breaches by the Finance Committee chair, casting doubt on the legitimacy of recent budgetary approvals and highlighting the need for strict adherence to legal and procedural standards in parliamentary finance operations.