MKs sworn in to Knesset in ceremony adhering to virus rules
Blue and White warns Edelstein of Supreme Court case if he prevents vote on his firing
The 120 members of the 23rd Knesset were sworn in to the legislature in groups of three on Monday in order to adhere to the new Health Ministry recommendation that people gather in groups of 10 or fewer to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.
The first three MKs sworn in were Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz.
In his address in which Netanyahu and Gantz were the only MKs sitting below him, President Reuven Rivlin urged them to continue the coalition talks that began on Sunday night at the President’s Residence
“The political crisis is very deep and divides us in half, but we have no other state and no other nation,” Rivlin said. “I have only one request of you: Give this people a government.”
In his speech, Edelstein offered to help mediate a unity government. He made no reference to Blue and White’s efforts to unseat him.
Meretz leader Nitzan Horowitz said he thought the Knesset not convening had nothing to do with the virus and was instead a trick by Edelstein to prevent a vote on removing him as Knesset speaker.
Blue and White’s attorneys sent Edelstein a letter on Monday, warning him that if he does not convene the Knesset soon to vote on replacing him, the party would appeal to the Supreme Court. Blue and White also asked Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit to intervene.
Invitations to the MKs’ families were canceled, except for the three new Knesset members, who were also told to discourage their family members from attending. The three new MKs are Andrey Kozinov (Blue and White), and Joint List MKs Sondos Saleh and Iman Yassin Khatib, who is the first MK who wears a hijab.
Yisrael Beytenu submitted controversial legislation aimed at Netanyahu that would prevent an indicted MK from forming a government.
Channel 12 reported that Agriculture Minister Tzachi Hanegbi came to the Knesset and was sworn in, even though he was asked not to come after he came in contact with someone whose wife is suffering from the coronavirus at an agricultural event. But Hanegbi said that unlike two other MKs who attended the same conference and got word before they came to the Knesset, he was told when he was in the building immediately before the ceremony, so he got sworn-in, kept his distance from people and left the building. Hanegbi, along with Blue and White MKs Alon Shuster and Ram Ben Barak were banned from the Knesset, pending testing of the victim’s husband and the MKs.
Diplomats and the press were also disinvited from the Knesset plenum. But Supreme Court Chief Justice Esther Hayut was present.