Knesset Approves Organizing Committee Amid Arab Party Support, Likud Cries Foul

The Knesset plenum approved the formation of the organizing committee on Wednesday, based on a proposal by MK Roee Volkman, with 63 votes in favor and 50 against. An alternative proposal by Likud MK Ofir Katz, which would have allocated one committee seat per seven MKs, failed to pass. The newly formed committee is set to convene immediately to select temporary finance and foreign affairs and security committees and recommend their chairs. The organizing committee's primary role is to present the permanent Knesset committees for approval, and it can establish temporary committees until then. It will also assume the powers of the Knesset committee regarding the council's work and deliberations and can appoint temporary deputy Knesset speakers.

The law dictates that the organizing committee be headed by an MK from the bloc of the party tasked with forming the government. Representation on the committee is proportional to bloc size, with a minimum of one representative for blocs of four or more MKs. Volkman's approved proposal includes 22 MKs, with one seat per five MKs. The distribution is: Likud 5, Yachad 4, Joint List 2, Democrats 2, United Arab List 2, Israel Beiteinu 1, Otzma Yehudit 1, United Torah Judaism 1, Shas 1, and Religious Zionism 1.

Volkman, who will chair the committee, stated that "good politics is pragmatic politics" and emphasized his desire for consensus, criticizing the rejection of compromise. MK Katz countered that his party proposed a fair distribution, including four seats for Arab parties, and accused the coalition of attempting to hide their cooperation with "supporters of terrorism."