Defense Minister Gantz addressed the issue this morning, saying: “IDF and IDF fighters should know that the Likud, Gafni and Deri are preventing them from receiving the signal for fighting in the security zone only for political motives. I know how important this signal is to fighters, and the law that will allow us to grant it. “Stuck because of political blackmail and lies. There are things that are above politics. I call on them to recover immediately.”
Israel Today has learned that MK Yinon Azulai of Shas yesterday submitted a revision (request for a new discussion) on the Finance Committee’s decision to award the battle signal to the SLA members. As a result, the law has not yet been approved, and if there is no change, it will not be possible to give the signal in time to SLA members during the current government, and most likely not even on the upcoming Memorial Day.
As stated, the defense establishment will have to consider whether to award the signal to the fighters in the security strip without SLA personnel, or, more likely, the granting of the entire signal will be postponed at this stage.
The defense establishment believes that the reason why Shas decided not to put the law to a vote yesterday was the closure of the bakery in Kiryat Shmona. In light of the desire to pass the law to award the battle signal, the Ministry of Defense issued an unusual announcement yesterday that “at the request of the Ministry of Economy and in an attempt to assist bakery employees, the Ministry of Defense procured until the end of April 2021. Pastry for the IDF. This is to enable the Ministry of Economy to exhaust the examination of possibilities to help the spatial mafia in Kiryat Shmona continue to operate. ”
A spokesman for the chairman of the Finance Committee, MK Moshe Gafni, said: “At the end of this morning’s discussion in the committee, the law was approved for a second and third reading and will be put to a vote in the Knesset plenum tomorrow.”
A spokesman for MK Azulai said: “MK Azulai submitted the revision following the conduct of the Ministry of Defense towards 120 employees of the Spatial Bakery in Kiryat Shmona. Following the submission of the revision, the Ministry of Defense unilaterally announced that it was suspending the tender for the supply of bread to the IDF for another month until April.
“If it was important to the defense minister from 150 families of the bakery workers, no less than SLA members, this would have taken place in peace, but unfortunately so far the ministry has chosen not to contact us on the matter but to issue a press release. MK Azoulay sees great importance in promoting the law as a sign of recognition for SLA members.
“However, MK Azulai is extremely concerned that 150 families on the eve of Passover will be fired and left without a piece of bread. If their demand is accepted, MK Azulai will remove the revision and push for the law to be approved by the committee,” it said.