Israel Matzav

Knesset panel slaps Barak on 'settlement freeze'

The Knesset Defense Budget Committee, a special panel consisting of members of the Knesset Finance Committee and the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, has turned down a request from Ehud Barak and the Defense Ministry to redirect NIS 12 million from security to 'coordinating activities' in Judea and Samaria. The 'coordinating activities' consist of enforcing the 'settlement freeze'and would have added 29 inspectors to monitor Jewish building in Judea and Samaria and 11 persons within the Defense Ministry. The vote against was 4-2.

The three government representatives on the panel all voted against. Coalition chairman Ze’ev Elkin (Likud), and coalition MKs Miri Regev (Likud) and Amnon Cohen (Shas) joined MK Uri Ariel (National Union) in voting against the transfer, while Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman MK Tzahi Hanegbi (Kadima) and MK Ronnie Bar-On (Kadima) voted to support Labor chairman Barak’s proposal.

“The committee acted correctly in rejecting Barak’s request,” concluded Ariel, who was responsible for coordinating the opposition to the initiative.

“While the Palestinians build illegal estates without anyone doing anything, Barak is busy rounding up a budget for inspection of his draconian moratorium,” Ariel said.

He emphasized that when the 10-month moratorium against new settlement construction was put in place on November 29, he had warned Barak that his plan to add new inspectors and staff to enforce it was illegal as long as Barak had not received an okay from the joint committee.

But it gets worse. The 'settlement freeze' is scheduled to last ten months. Barak wanted the new employees for longer. A lot longer.

Shortly afterwards, Ariel noticed that the Defense Ministry had published ads for the not-yet funded positions, which according to the advertisements would last for “two years,” and not for 10 months.

Ariel submitted an official request for clarification to the ministry, and the advertisements soon disappeared.

Of course, the Defense Ministry has already hired the 40 new employees. Thirty of them are in the field and the other 10 are in training. Now, the government will have to figure out how to pay them and whether to lay them off.

What could go wrong?

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:38 PM