The state of emergency in effect since the establishment of the state was renewed by the Knesset on Monday for a six-month period instead of the one-year extension requested by the government. The emergency status enables the continued existence of regulations based on decrees of the Mandatory government, which allow the government to implement austere measures that are not consistent with democratic regimes. The move was approved by a 20-3 vote. A Knesset panel of members of the Foreign Affairs and Defense and Law committees decided to give the government only another six months, and demanded that in the interim 12 of the 18 regulations that don’t pertain to security be brought before the Knesset as separate laws. Full Story