Israel Matzav

Knesset Finance Committee passes budget for freeze inspectors

After refusing to do so on five previous occasions, the Knesset Finance Committee agreed on Wednesday to provide funding for 'inspectors' to enforce the building freeze on Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria.

However on Wednesday the coalition succeeded in securing a majority and making sure the Likud objectors were absent from the vote.

The Knesset Finance Committee had also insisted that Defense Minister Ehud Barak be present at the hearings in order to explain the need for inspectors, but the coalition made sure this condition was withdrawn and Barak was absent.

However the appeal for funds was softened by reducing the number of inspectors required from 14 to 11, which decreased the amount needed by around a million dollars.

Thus the chairman of the Finance Committee, Moshe Gafni, was required to put the budget to a vote under the watchful eye of the coalition.

MK Uri Ariel (National Union), who opposed the move, said that "the coalition bought the bluff sold to it by the Defense Ministry by reducing the number of inspectors".

The Likud stated that the inspectors would be given additional duties related to coordination, aside from ascertaining that the construction freeze was being upheld.

Obviously, there is more here than meets the eye. JPost has some more details on who conspired to push this through.

Meeting for the fourth time to vote on the addition of NIS 14.4 million to the budget of the Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria, several lawmakers, including Likud MKs Ze’ev Elkin and Miri Regev, who had previously opposed the measure, voted in favor this time, in spite of a last-ditch effort by MK Uri Ariel (National Union) to stop the funds.

MK Uri Orbach (Habayit Hayehudi) abstained from voting, and Shas and Israel Beiteinu representatives on the committee were conspicuously absent from the hearing.

The civil administration explained to committee members that only 11 of the 41 inspectors that were budgeted Wednesday will work to enforce the moratorium. The other 30, they said, would perform other enforcement activities, including preventing water theft, ecological damage and illegal Palestinian building.

Ariel, however, said that there had been an agreement within the coalition that only eight – and not 11 – new inspectors would be assigned to enforcing the moratorium, leading to a reduction of NIS 3.6m. from the original NIS 18m. budget presented to the committee.

But here's what has people most concerned:

Ariel noted that the Defense Ministry has not explained why, if the moratorium is only supposed to continue five more months, the inspectors are to be hired for a two-year period.

The 'freeze' is going to be extended folks. Get used to it.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:31 AM