Cabinet okays NIS 1.3 billion southern rebuilding plan
Five-year, $355 million initiative backed by Netanyahu is one of several projects for development near Gaza
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The cabinet on Sunday approved a major initiative, backed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to provide economic development and rebuilding for areas of Israel’s south affected by this summer’s Israel-Hamas hostilities, which saw the communities around the Gaza Strip battered by thousands of missiles fired from the Hamas-controlled territory.
The plan is to roll-out over a five-year period, from 2014 to 2018, at a cost of NIS 1.3 billion ($355 million), making it “the largest and most comprehensive economic development plan ever made for the area,” the Prime Minister’s Office said on Sunday.
The initiative is in addition to a separate package from July, which is to allocate NIS 417 million ($114 million) for communities adjacent to the Gaza Strip over 2015 to 2016.
“We came to this country to build and to be built. We came to this part of our land in order to build and be built in it and nobody will uproot us. We will strengthen our hold and our development of this area just as in other areas,” Netanyahu said at the weekly cabinet meeting Sunday.
The package will focus on economic, agricultural and communal development, as well upgrading infrastructures to increase quality of life and standard of living.
“Since 2009, there has been a continual increase in the number of residents in the area adjacent to the Gaza Strip. The Government’s current steps are designed to assure the continuation of this demographic trend,” according to a government press release.
The plan will develop “a new industrial zone in Sderot, transportation infrastructure in the area…[and will encourage] young people and students to move to the area adjacent to the Gaza Strip,” Netanyahu said.
On Tuesday, the prime minister said, the cabinet is expected to approve an additional NIS 2 billion ($547 million) package, which will be used for a number of projects, including a new hospital in Beersheba, natural gas infrastructures, small-business development and other programs. “We will develop tourism and all aspects of life including the important cyber aspect for all residents of the Negev, including Bedouin. This is a deep commitment on our part,” Netanyahu pledged.
Netanyahu is currently in the midst of a budget tussle with Finance Minister Yair Lapid over how to pay for the summer’s military campaign in Gaza, which cost some NIS 9 billion according to the Defense Ministry, and whether to increase borrowing and push through a tax relief plan for some first-time homebuyers.
The two are meeting Sunday.
The Times of Israel Community.