Liberman Says He Will Take Over Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday

Yisrael Beytenu chairman Avigdor Liberman said on Friday, November 13, that he would formally begin serving as chairman of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Monday, November 16. He set out the oversight role he intends the committee to play as political efforts to form a government continue. “We are all going through tense and nerve-racking days,” Liberman said, referring to the security and political situation. He described the panel as one of the Knesset’s most important committees. He said its responsibilities include supervising the security establishment and serving as a safeguard against military action undertaken for political purposes. Liberman also described taking up the chairmanship as a first step toward forming a government with a stable coalition majority and leading Israel into a new era. The committee is expected to convene on Monday. The announcement follows the Arrangements Committee’s November 11 approval of temporary Foreign Affairs and Defense and Finance committees for the 26th Knesset. That panel selected Liberman to chair the defense committee and Liran Avishar Ben-Horin of Together to chair Finance, with Arab-party lawmakers supporting the majority. Arrangements Committee chairman Roy Folkman of Yashar said agreement had been reached on allocating seats. He emphasized enabling the temporary committees to begin their work and called for respectful disagreement.