Knesset Reasserts Authority in Pandemic Response

YERUSHALAYIM
The Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, in Yerushalayim. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

The Knesset took back some of its authority in handling the ongoing coronavirus crisis on Tuesday night, as it voted to strengthen its oversight powers in the coming year, The Times of Israel reported.

The new law revokes the government’s authority to declare a “special state of emergency” which enables it to ban protests, and includes a distinction between a “state of emergency” during an outbreak and a “special health situation” between waves of infections.

During the latter, government measures will need prior approval before implementation, unlike the past two years when the Knesset would retroactively approve government measures after they already went into effect.

The new legislation will be in effect through the end of 2022.

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