Blue and White vows to prevent removal of rebel Knesset panel head

The Blue and White party declares in a statement that it will work to prevent the removal of Yifat Shasha-Biton as the chairwoman of the Knesset’s Coronavirus Committee.

The Likud party said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to remove her from the post after she warned that her panel would not okay the government’s latest closure orders if data is not provided justifying them.

Blue and White acted to prevent Shasha-Biton’s ouster earlier this week after her panel voted to reverse the cabinet’s decision to shutter pools and gyms.

“I think the Corona Committee should approve the government’s decisions regarding the coronavirus, but at the same time, we must respect the role of the Knesset. I am working to prevent the dismissal of Shasha-Biton and I hope we will avoid this step,” Gantz says in a statement.

Gantz updates his faction that he plans, in cooperation with Netanyahu, to limit the number of ministers in the so-called “Corona Cabinet” tasked with leading the government’s response to the pandemic. The Blue and White leader says shrinking the number of participants will allow the body to operate more effectively.

Gantz also calls for the Defense Ministry that he heads to be given more authority to lead the government’s response to the pandemic.

Regarding Netanyahu’s plan to disperse financial aid to all Israeli adults, Gantz says, “we need to give more to those who have less. It is right and proper to transfer money to citizens, but there are a number of alternatives [to Netanyahu’s approach]. We will discuss them overnight in order to reach understandings.”