Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent)

We will come back to that legal basis because I would disagree with Mr. Cross. I do not believe that is clear at all. For the record, we should be clear that it nowhere says that the domicile of the issuer and so forth are the key factors. That is not stated in the prospectus regulatory framework. It simply says that these are factors which may include those listed, and then it says that it is not an exhaustive list. Mr. Cross mentioned the question of the legal issues and the legal compliance. Going back to the prospectus regulation, which the bank is considering, one of the things that is in the prospectus regulation, which my colleague, Deputy O'Callaghan, read out, as specifically being one of the factors that needs to be considered is paragraph 88 of the preamble, which refers to the compliance with fundamental rights and principles and the Charter of Fundamental Rights. That is a basis within the prospectus regulation that can be drawn on as one of the factors that maybe should be considered by the Central Bank when making a transfer request. What is not clear to me is how that has actually been, or whether it was, considered.

We have had contradictions. We have been told in one of the written replies that the bank considers national and international law and so forth in, I think, its approvals. In our last engagement, Mr. Makhlouf said that actually it was the regulations the Central Bank looked to rather than the preamble when making the decisions and that they were the relevant basis. He also stated, in a later exchange with me, that the fundamental point and question we need to ask ourselves is whether, at that end of the day, the State of Israel is able to repay these bonds. I said, no, the fundamental question is whether there are risks to investors, including financial and other risks. Mr. Makhlouf replied, no, it is financial risks. We will come back to the financial risks in a moment. Just a few moments ago, Mr. Makhlouf also said that the Genocide Convention and the ICJ do not play a role. That was his language from 15 or 20 minutes ago. Where was the consideration of international law that we would argue and I would argue and believe is required under paragraph 88 of the prospectus? Where was that considered in the Central Bank's process for the approval of the transfer of approval?