Edelstein says Knesset will vote on forming committees if parties can’t agree

Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein says he’ll call a plenum vote to establish parliamentary committees if the parties cannot agree on their makeup.

“We won’t remain without parliamentary oversight of the government,” he writes on Twitter.

He also says he has applied the Health Ministry’s instructions against the virus, which limits public events to 10 people, to the Knesset.

“I won’t, not even for Knesset members, endanger the workers and visitors to the [Knesset],” he says.

Separately, Blue and White party chairman Benny Gantz, who earlier accused Likud of preventing the Knesset from functioning, speaks with Edelstein.

“The Knesset is a national and vital institution that must continue to function, all the more so in times of crisis, and it’s expected of someone [Edelstein] who for years was a statesmanlike actor who served all Israeli society to allow this,” a statement from Blue and White says.

The statement also says that MKs should serve as an example to the rest of the public by following Health Ministry instructions and therefore lawmakers should use videos conferences or “other creative solutions” to do their work.