The Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday rejected allegations made by members of the Blue and White party, including by chairman Benny Gantz and Gabi Ashkenazi, over the manner in which emergency protocols were approved to allow the Shin Bet security agency to digitally track people infected with the coronavirus.
"Because the pandemic is spreading at an incredibly fast pace, postponing using these tools by even an hour could cause the deaths of a very large amount of Israelis," Netanyahu said.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
"After the discussion in the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee stalled and could have gone on for days, Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu acted quickly, together with the Health Ministry and the Attorney General [Avichai Mendelblit], to permit the immediate use of digital tools that can slow the spread of the virus in Israel and save the lives of many citizens. The decision was formulated by the attorney general and the Health Ministry and was unanimously approved by the government. The decision is valid for 14 days, and in this time the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee will be able to make its suggestions regarding the use of the tool," the statement added.
Gantz, as stated, attacked the way the decision was made, saying: "We are in an unusual period which, unfortunately, requires action to be taken with irregular tools for the purpose of saving lives. However, this cannot be done underhandedly and without appropriate regulation [over the use of such tools]."
"We cannot surrender transparency and oversight. Blue and White will insist that the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, along with a special Corona sub-committee, the Finance Committee and other sub-committees be enlisted immediately to oversee the process and approve the type of regulation so critical at this juncture," he said.
The Blue and White leader added that the Foreign Affairs and Defense committee must further be privy to information on tracking measures approved thus far.
"A functional parliament, even and especially in states of emergency, is the hallmark of democracy and we will be steadfast in preserving it," he wrote.
Earlier, Ashkenazi expressed anger at the overnight cabinet decision, calling it "political thievery."
"It is improper that this is the way using such means is authorized, without parliamentary and public oversight," Ashkenazi said.
Ashkenazi, who like Gantz is a former IDF chief of staff, called for the immediate formation of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, in order to meet on the matter and ensure proper oversight as is required by law.
As a reminder, in a conference call overnight Monday, members of the cabinet voted unanimously to approve emergency measures allowing the use of digital technologies to contain the spread of coronavirus in Israel. Mendelblit, the attorney general, was in on the call.
The cabinet vote came hours after Netanyahu and Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon convened a press conference on Monday to announce decisions about what services would be available to the public in the time of the current health crisis and what the government would be doing to provide financial assistance to workers placed on unpaid leave and business owners whose livelihoods are at risk.
On Tuesday, Shin Bet Director Nadav Argaman said that the agency is "well aware of the inherent sensitivities" of the situation, stressing that the agency will not retain any of the information gathered after the 30-day period approved by the cabinet.
Argaman said that only a select group of agents will have access to the information. "This measure is necessary to save lives," he asserted.
"I want to emphasize that the Shin Bet will not, in any phase, deal with enforcement or supervision of those required to quarantine," the security chief said. However, that does not mean that the police won't be able to enforce quarantine rules, based on the collected information.
Mendelblit, for his part, defended the decision to allow the special emergency measures, writing in a statement: "Among the many many steps being taken; on Tuesday, the Israeli government approved on behalf of the Health Ministry in order to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus."
He added that this move – which was initiated by the Health Ministry – was made in lockstep with the government's legal advisers "from the beginning, and with me personally. This was done through continuous communication with the political echelon, experts in the Health Ministry, police and Shin Bet. The goal of this discourse was to ensure that the tools that are used are for a worthy purpose, do not infringe [on personal liberties], strike the right balance between the national interest of safeguarding the public and health and human rights, namely the right to privacy. The purpose of the protocol is to save lives in a time of emergency. It's as simple as that."
