Jonathan Pollard
Jonathan PollardFile

MK Uri Ariel (National Union), who chairs the Knesset's State Control Committee, accused two of the officials closest to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's of deliberately stalling regarding a debate on the situation of Jonathan Pollard.

Ariel said at a session of the committee devoted to the subject of Pollard that he has been trying for months to get the two men – Cabinet Secretary Tzvi Hauser and Diplomatic Adviser Ron Dermer – to reach agreements on Pollard and set a date for a discussion. The two have refused these advances, he said.

The Control Committee finally convened its session without the presence of the two men, on Tuesday.

MK Ariel said that he would consider issuing a legally binding order that would force the two to show up for the discussion.

"It is not true that the state has done everything within its powers [to free Pollard]," he said. "It is a very grave matter that the Prime Minister's advisers, who coordinate all of the official actions on the matter, avoid giving the public an account of their efforts."