Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to defer the Knesset vote on transferring to the full government the minister of the economy's powers to override Antitrust Commissioner David Gilo's objections to the settlement with the gas companies. This follow's Minister of the Economy Aryeh Deri's refusal last week to exercise his powers in the matter, after the diplomatic-security cabinet decided that the gas settlement was a matter of national security that justified setting Gilo's objections aside.
The prime minister ordered that the outline gas settlement should be released for publication within a short time, as soon as the legal drafting of it, which is currently being worked on, is complete, to enable full public discussion of all parts of the agreement. Netanyahu is convinced that when the public is exposed to the details of the agreement and sees its advantages for the economy and for the country's security, the Knesset will support the government's proposal.
Earlier this evening, Netanyahu failed to persuade Moshe Kahlon and Yoav Galant of the Kulanu party and Haim Katz of Likud, all of whom who say they have conflicts of interests in the matter, to vote with the government on the transfer of powers. Nor could he persuade Aryeh Deri to retract his waiver of his authority. This followed Avigdor Liberman's decision not to support the government in the vote, even though he approves of the gas settlement itself, leaving Netanyahu without a majority in the Knesset.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 30, 2015
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