Government earmarks $4.4 million for preserving West Bank antiquities in wartime vote

28 December 2023, 5:46 pm

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Israeli forces examine stolen antiquities recovered during an arrest operation in the West Bank on August 15, 2022. (Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories)

The cabinet has voted via telephone to earmark NIS 16 million ($4.41 million) in coalition funds to go toward an initiative by the Heritage Ministry to preserve antiquities in the West Bank.

The vote comes amid criticism that the hardline coalition is prioritizing spending for sectoral concerns of the national religious and ultra-Orthodox camps that do not have to do with the war, rather than pooling all government spending to go toward the war effort.