Two meetings in a year and a half: The committee meant to protect public funds has disappeared from the radar
An investigation by Israel Hayom reveals that the Personal Liability Committee at the Ministry of Interior, designed to deter local authority heads from illegal spending of public funds, has nearly ceased to operate. From the start of 2025 until June 2026, only two meetings were held, compared to dozens in previous years. Additionally, about half of the imposed liabilities were not collected, and public information is not accessible.
An investigation by Israel Hayom reveals that the Personal Liability Committee at the Ministry of Interior, designed to deter local authority heads from illegal spending of public funds, has nearly ceased to operate. From the start of 2025 until June 2026, only two meetings were held, compared to dozens in previous years. The committee is supposed to personally obligate elected officials who approved expenditures contrary to the law, such as contracting without a tender, using education funds for other purposes, or granting discounts in violation of the law. Since 2019, the committee has imposed liabilities totaling 1.16 million shekels, but only 589,000 shekels have been collected—about half. Transparency is also lacking: the link to the committee's decisions on the Ministry of Interior website is inactive. The Movement for Freedom of Information stated that the committee operates in the dark and barely functions. The Ministry of Interior claims the committee operates regularly and holds internal discussions, but the investigation raises doubts about the mechanism's effectiveness.