Knesset to form special committee to deal with coronavirus
"Should the plague reach Israel, we will have to deal with it without an NEA head," Blue and White MK Zvi Hauser told the Knesset House Committee.
By GIL HOFFMAN, HAGAY HACOHENThe Knesset House Committee discussing the immunity bill proposed by Knesset House Committee Chair MK Miki Zohar(photo credit: ARIK BENDER/MAARIV)
The Knesset House Committee voted late Tuesday to recommend that the Knesset plenum form a temporary committee to deal with the coronavirus, should patients carrying it be found in the country.The committee would oversee all matters related to the spread and treatment of the virus.As of November, the National Emergency Authority (NEA) does not have a head, as the last person to fill that position, Bezalel Triber, resigned.“Should the plague reach Israel, we will have to deal with it without an NEA head,” Blue and White MK Zvi Hauser told the committee.Hauser called to appoint a new head and warned that unless a committee is formed “today... we will pay the price.”The committee decided to also form two other temporary committees, one dealing with special education and the other with the operation of emergency services during the recent storms. It rejected a request to form another committee on violence in the Arab sector.Ten MKs from Blue and White and Yisrael Beytenu voted in favor, with Likud and Joint List members not participating in the vote. The decisions will be rubber-stamped by the plenum when it meets to decide on the immunity request for Likud MK Haim Katz. Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein is expected to set a date for the plenum meeting on Thursday.
