On Monday, the Knesset special committee headed by MK Eitan Ginsburg (Blue&White) convened to debate legislation that will provide a legal basis for several amendments to the Basic Law: Government, which will in turn enable the simultaneous tenure of two prime ministers, effectively: Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz.
In recent days, the committee has seen fierce clashes between Blue&White and the parties that until a month ago were in the same center-left Arab bloc with them. One fierce confrontation erupted during Monday’s debate, between the committee chairman Ginsburg and MK Tamar Zandberg (Meretz), which ended in the latter’s being forcibly dragged out the chamber by ushers in coronavirus protective masks.
After a long stretch of shouting and confrontation among committee members, Chairman Ginsburg called MK Zandberg to order, to which she responded: “There’s a debate here, it’s called a debate.” A few seconds later, he called her to order a third time, and demanded that the Knesset ushers remove her from the committee chamber.
“You don’t let me talk, you blow up debates,” he told Zandberg.
Zandberg insisted on staying and protested the chairman’s decision.
A masked female attendant approached her but the MK refused to leave. Two additional ushers then approached her and all three forcefully dragged her out of the committee chamber.
There were clamorous clashes between MKs Pnina Tamano-Shata and Elazar Stern, who used to be part of Blue&White together, until Stern was abandoned in the opposition as part of Yesh Atid.
During the hearing, the Knesset legal counsel pointed out a host of difficulties in enacting the package of rotation-enabling amendments, which had been decided in the Likud–Blue&White negotiations, but may not necessarily hold water legally. Among other things, the legal counsel is doubtful regarding the clause that says Gantz would replace Netanyahu at the helm of a transition government should Netanyahu dissolve the Knesset. Such a move may violate the principle of continuity in decision-making which is required of a transition government between the dispersal of the Knesset and new elections.
