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Monday, August 29, 2011

September report to remain secret

FADC Chairman Shaul Mofaz Photo: Gil Yohanan

Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee to keep controversial report criticizing Israel's readiness for upcoming Palestinian statehood bid under wraps. Chairman Mofaz: This is a political outrage

The Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee (FADC) voted Sunday against the publication of a controversial report criticizing Israel's readiness for September events surrounding the UN vote on Palestinian statehood.

The report allegedly states that Israel is ill-prepared for possible scenarios in September. It also mentions that the Palestinian bid could have been prevented in the diplomatic arena.

The document, initiated by FADC Chairman Shaul Mofaz (Kadima), was the hot topic of discussion at the committee's meeting on Sunday, as members belonging to the coalition made it clear to Mofaz they will not allow the report to be published on behalf of the committee.
Mofaz's critics also demanded the chairman declare the document as his own personal report.

Towards the end of the meeting, the committee decided to keep the document confidential, only allowing a limited number of senior officials to review it.

Sources close to Mofaz warned last Thursday that if the coalition persists in its efforts to conceal the report, there would be no other choice but to publish some excerpts from it instead.

Mofaz later briefed the press about the meeting, criticizing the coalition. "Speaking as someone who has taken part in a number of discussions and status evaluations, I can say that what happened today at the committee was a political outrage," he remarked.

"There was an attempt to silence the situation and not allow the publication of the report we've formed after great efforts. I call the prime minster to read the report and take it seriously."

"The prime minister said the work being done on the report was political, and used the majority of the coalition to prevent its publication," added Knesset Member Yohanan Plesner (Kadima), one of the authors of the disputable document.

"With that, the situation in which the prime minister can, with the help of a majority of the coalition, block the procedures caused by September - must be fixed."

'Report a political weapon'

However Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin pointed out that "the committee chairman is first among equals, and it's not possible for him to present a committee report in our parliamentary system without the committee's approval… and it cannot be used as a political weapon."

Other coalition members discussed their objection to the publication of the report.

"The document is political and lacks references to the reality of terror against the State of Israel,"

MK Miri Regev (Likud) said.

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