The first section of Israel's controversial Biometric Documents Identification Law (the "Biometrics Law") was approved Sunday for its second and third reading by a joint Knesset committee which included MKs from the Science and Interior Committees.

The session was headed by MK Meir Sheetrit, himself a former Interior Minister. Sheetrit first proposed the law when he was Interior Minister and has been pushing it through various Knesset committees, despite strong objections from some MKs and citizens' groups.