MK Tzachi Hanegbi
Photo: Ahiya Raved
Group demands Hanegbi suspension
Movement for Quality Government wants indicted MK to be removed from post of Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee chairman
The Movement for Quality Government in Israel approached the prime minister and the Knesset's House Committee Tuesday and demanded that Knesset Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Tzachi Hanegbi be suspended.
Earlier, Attorney General Menachem Mazuz decided to indict Hanegbi over apparent illegal appointments at the Environment Ministry. Mazuz shocked the political system after deciding to serve one of the most severe indictments ever filed against a political figure in Israel, accusing Hanegbi of fraud, breach of trust, elections bribe, and providing false testimony.
The Movement for Quality Government noted that the severity of the charges against Hanegbi means that public trust in the political system would be undermined should he remain at his current post.
"In the face of the character of the offences we're talking about and the central significance assumed by the post of Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee
chairman these days, MK Hanegbi's stay at the post causes serious damage to the face of government in Israel," the Movement charged.
Group leaders noted that according to Knesset regulations, the House Committee can suspend a committee chairman in the event he or she face criminal proceedings.
Hanegbi himself announced a short time after Mazuz's decision was published that he is willing to forego his parliamentary immunity and stand trial.
"It's clear, and this matter has been emphasized by Hanegbi all along the way, that acceptance to work is conditioned on suitable skills of each and every candidate," Hanegbi's office said in a statement, referring to charges of improper appointments. "The indictment doesn’t show that the overwhelming majority of candidates presented by Hanegbi were rejected by bureaucratic officials and the overwhelming majority of employees appointed during his time were completely unrelated to him and were not proposed by him."
