The flagship bill of outgoing Minister of Environmental Affairs (The Movement) Yair Peretz, which was scheduled for a vote in the Knesset Interior Committee on Monday 17 Marcheshvan, has been postponed indefinitely. The bill was expected to pass however, after Peretz announced his resignation from the government on Sunday, the bill intended to limit the use of plastic bags in supermarkets and nationwide was placed on hold indefinitely.

Peretz announced he cannot continue in the current cabinet, which is pushing an agenda that is in contradiction to his hashkafa. Peretz, who defected to The Movement party from Labor is now probing the possibility of shifting back to his native Labor Party. Mr. Peretz had harsh words for Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in his remarks to the media signaling he was planning to step down from the cabinet. Mr. Netanyahu struck back after receiving Peretz’s letter of resignation, stating “I am glad you realized your place in politics is not at the cabinet table”.

In The Movement, the members of the six-person Knesset faction must decide who will replace Peretz and fill his cabinet post.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)