It was also claimed that Zalul raised new claims in the petition, including the claim that MAG did not provide cleaning services to the Arara Council in the Negev; and the claim that MAG does not meet the conditions of clause 25.1 of the tender booklet.
- On the merits of the matter, the Council argues that MAG Met all the prerequisites of the tender, including the requirement of previous experience and the absence of criminal convictions.
Regarding the previous attempt, it was claimed that the council carried out rigorous checks, including hearings and a demand for supplementary documents, as well as spoke with officials in the local councils, and was convinced that MAG met the prerequisites. The ISBB emphasizes that according to the tender documents, it was entitled to suffice with declarations only regarding previous experience.
In its response, the council clarified that the council did not require experience in "engagements" but rather experience in "carrying out cleaning work". Therefore, in order to meet the prerequisites, there is no impediment to an agreement for security services to be extended to the provision of cleaning services, even without winning a designated tender or entering into a designated agreement.
- Regarding previous convictions, The Council argued that Section 25.1 is not a prerequisite, and in any event, There was a clerical error in it and it should be interpreted in accordance with clause 11.2 of the terms of the tender. Section 11.2, which is one of the prerequisites, relates to the existence of criminal convictions of the bidders in relation to more than two offenses. According to the council, since MAG and its controlling shareholders had no more than two previous criminal convictions, it meets the terms of the tender. It was argued that clause 25.1 is a general clause in the tender that is found in the structure of the tender, and it was noted in it that it does not detract from the threshold conditions regarding the protection of the rights of employees detailed in this document. It was argued that since a reading of section 25.1 shows that there is a contradiction between it and what is stated in the prerequisites in section 11.2, it is clear that in section 25.1 there was a clerical error with respect to the number of criminal convictions, and these should be more than two (and not one) - As stipulated in the prerequisites.
The ISBB further argues that the interpretation that best realizes the public interest in increasing the number of potential bidders should be chosen, and that an interpretation that upholds the bids of the tender participants should be preferred over an interpretation that disqualifies them.
- The council claims that it has provided Zalul with all the documents that were requested from it and even more. It was argued that the duty of disclosure does not apply to the legal opinion that the tenders committee received from its legal advisors, since it is protected under the confidentiality of a client's attorney. It was further argued that the professional opinion given to the Council is an internal document, which is not required to be disclosed, and in any case the document relates only to the issue of the pricing of Mag's proposal, which is not in dispute here.
- MAG also believes that the petition should be rejected.
According to Mag, it is Met all the prerequisites of the tender, including the requirement of previous experience and the absence of criminal convictions. She attached relevant certificates and documents, including an accountant's certificate, letters of recommendation, correspondence with the authorities, pay slips, and performance reports.