Regulation bill protest
Gil Yohanan
Ruling on Regulation Bill postponed to next week
After hours of grueling debates on controversial Regulation Bill, the vote to be postponed to next Monday. The opposition reacted strongly: 'This is a despicably heavy-handed move.'
After many reservations, discussions lasting for hours during a special committee, and never-ending flip-flopping by the coalition, the ruling over the controversial Regulation Bill has been postponed to next week.
The bill was postponed despite promises by Prime Miniser Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday that he will do his best to promote the bill.
Coalition Chairman David Bitan (Likud) issued a statement, saying that following the opposition's refusal to reach any agreement on a date for the vote, it was decided to enact Section 98 in the Knesset by-laws, which allows the coalition to predetermine the order of issues to be brought before the plenum rather than allow the introduction of a filibuster that could embarrass the coalition or cause problems with the vote.
Protest in front of the Knesset in favor of the Regulation Bill (Photo: Gil Yohanan)
The opposition has decided to fight with all the parliamentary rules at their disposal, submitting more than 500 reservations in the special committee and then asking for a revision (a revote due to technical issues with the bill). This have caused serious delays, making the deliberation stretch from the early morning hours till late afternoon, and prevented it from as of yet coming to an end.
By the opposition's request, the revision will be held tomorrow, after which KM could voice their reservations for two days in the plenum. The vote is scheduled to take place next Monday.
