Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee

The Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee ( _he. ועדת חוץ וביטחון) is a permanent Knesset committee which oversees key Foreign and Defense areas, including the drafting of legislation, supervision over related government ministries and the approval of their budgests. It is regarded as one of two most important committees (the other being the Finance Committee).

Activity

The majority of the committee's activity takes place in its subcommittees, while the committee as a whole largely serves as a media stage for top defense decisionmakers. The committee approves extensive subcommittee-drafted delegeted legislation in areas of defense, emergency preparedness, emergency recruitment of human resources, Shabak special operations, allocation of emergency equipment, the deployment of the Home Front, and other security and intelligence related tasks. The committee is presented with summaries by the top decisionmakers in areas of foreign affairs, defense, and intelligence, including by the Prime Minister, the Foreign Affairs Minister, the Minister of Defense, and the heads of Mossad, Shabak, and Aman. The committee's chair, who reports on much of the country's defense activities, is considered one of the most senior figures in the Security Forces and subsequently, it is one of the most sought after positions in the Knesset. The committee's plenary sessions are secret and the meetings of some of its subcommittees are top secret. Consequently, its protocols remain largely unpublished. After repeated instances in which the contents of meetings were leaked, its members became obliged to sign a secrecy affidavit. The media has limited access to committee meetings (at selected occasions) and no access to that of its subcommittees. The government is obligated to bring to the approval of the committee various emergency activities, including ones related to or that are likely to result in war. The committee also undertakes personal hearings for key defense and State decisionmakers as well as hearings for appreciable defense projects.

Members, 2006

*Chair: Tzachi Hanegbi (Kadima)
*Ami Ayalon (Labour)
*Effi Eitam (National Union-NRP)
*Yossi Beilin (Meretz-Yachad)
*Shlomo Benizri (Shas)
*Shlomo Breznitz (Kadima)
*Amira Dotan (Kadima)
*Zvi Hendel (National Union-NRP)
*Matan Vilnai (Labour)
*Israel Hasson (Yisrael Beiteinu)
*Danny Yatom (Labour)
*Avraham Ravitz (United Torah Judaism)
*Yuval Steinitz (Likud)
*Otniel Schneller (Kadima)
*Moshe Sharoni (Gil)
*Avigdor Lieberman (Yisrael Beiteinu)

Alternates

*Ruhama Avraham (Kadima)
*Binyamin Elon (National Union-NRP)
*Moshe Gafni (Degel HaTorah)
*Nissim Ze'ev (Shas)
*Esterina Tartman (Israel Beytenu)
*Avigdor Yitzhaky (Kadima)
*Ran Cohen (Meretz-Yachad)
*Limor Livnat (Likud)
*Efraim Sneh (Labour)
*Natan Sharansky (Likud)

Unlisted [Former prime ministers currently in the Knesset also sit on the committee, but are not listed as members.]

*Benjamin Netanyahu (Likud)

=Subcommittees=

*Subcommittee for Legislation
*Subcommittee for Foreign Affairs and Publicity
*Subcommittee for Intelligence and Secret Services
*Subcommittee for Personnel in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)
*Subcommittee for Security Perception
*Subcommittee for the State of Alert and Field Security
*Subcommittee for the Examination of Home-Front Readiness

=Overseen bodies=

*The Prime Minister's Office, including Mossad and Shabak
*The Ministry of Defense, including the IDF, the Malmab (Ministry's security arm), and the military industries and development bodies
*The Foreign Ministry
*The National Security Council
*The Ministry of Public Security and the Police (on security matters)

=External links=

* [http://www.knesset.gov.il/committees/eng/committee_eng.asp?c_id=4 Official site]