The government will convene next Wednesday, August 16, in an emergency session during the parliamentary break. The announcement was made in a letter to MKs on Wednesday evening.
In the letter, the bills to be discussed were listed. There will be a second and third reading on the Bill on Payments to Soldiers in Regular Service, a bill that deals with the salaries of soldiers. There will also be a number of first readings on bills for pharmacists, planning and construction, commercial arbitration, import/export, and regulation of ionizing radiation.
Why is the Knesset reconvening?
The Knesset has been on break since the beginning of August, though a number of bills were floating prior to the start of it, including the one for soldiers that had been scheduled for its second and third readings before the break.
The Knesset typically convenes at least once during their break for any number of reasons.
Knesset members are usually on call despite their break, and many have still been working from their offices during the week since the recess started at the end of July. The notice gives those who are away from their offices or out of the country a week to return to the Knesset prior to the planned plenum debates. The break is supposed to last until October 15, after the Jewish High Holidays.
It was thought that an emergency session could be called at some point in regard to the government’s judicial reform, which still could happen at a later date - particularly if the High Court decides to strike down the Law to Cancel the Reasonableness Standard, which passed shortly before the break, the Incapacitation Law, which the court placed an injunction on for a September hearing, or if it forces Justice Minister Yariv Levin to convene the Judicial Selection Committee, which he so far refused to do, a move that broke down the negotiations at the President’s Residence last month.
The plenum will convene next Wednesday at 11 a.m.