Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Lebanese President Michel Aoun (Photos: Olivia Fitosi/Flash 90, Shutterstock)
After many years of negotiations, the procedure for approving the agreement to determine the maritime border with Lebanon will reach its climax today (Wednesday) when the cabinet ministers and the government will discuss the agreement and vote on its approval.
The ministers of the political and security cabinet will meet at 11:00 a.m. to discuss the details of the agreement, and then, at 1:30 p.m., the government will meet to determine how the agreement will be approved – by the Knesset or only at a cabinet meeting at the end of the 14 days of the discount. At 18:00 the Knesset plenum will be opened exceptionally on the day of the holiday, to allow the agreement to be placed on the Knesset table for two weeks.
On the other hand, several petitions have already been submitted to the High Court against the government’s intention to approve the maritime agreement. The court demanded that the state provide answers to the issue by 10:00.
Ahead of the government’s debate, the legal advisor to the government, Gali Beharev-Miara, published her opinion on the authority to approve the agreement. In the document, the ombudsman claimed that the approval of an international agreement is under the authority of the government, and there is no formal source to bring it to the Knesset for approval either, but Rabbi Miara reasons that this is the preferable situation, given the circumstances.
In the opinion sent to the ministers in preparation for the discussion in the government, it was clarified that a basic condition for promoting the agreement near the elections is the existence of a professional factual infrastructure, which shows the special importance and urgency that justify the promotion of the agreement now. Regarding the emerging agreement, the most senior security officials and the rest of the profession presented a factual picture according to which there is a crucial importance to the advancement of the agreement, and that at this time a short and unique window of time will be opened for this purpose.
The legal advisor to the government clarified in her letter that under the circumstances that have arisen, the government must ensure that the procedures for approving the agreement by it are done in a manner that is consistent with the exceptional circumstances of the case, with an emphasis on the proximity to the election date. Accordingly, to the extent that the government does seek to advance the agreement, it must first hold a discussion and decide whether it is sufficient to submit it to the Knesset’s attention in accordance with the usual rule set forth in the Knesset’s statutes, or whether it must be brought to a vote and approval by the Knesset, although there is no legal obligation to do so.
Did you find an error in the article? Does the content in the article violate copyrights that you own? Have you come across an inappropriate ad? Report to us