Netanyahu vows frozen funds will be transferred to Arab towns ‘with supervision’

9 August 2023, 8:13 pm

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attend a vote on the 'reasonableness' bill at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, on July 24, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Shortly following Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s speech defending his decision not to transfer funds to Arab municipalities, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issues a statement saying that the funds will be transferred with proper oversight.

“The funds for Arab localities in Israel will be transferred after inspection and supervision that they will reach their appropriate destination — to Arab Israeli citizens of Israel and nowhere else,” the Prime Minister’s Office says in a statement.

“Arab citizens of Israel deserve what all citizens deserve and I am committed to that,” says Netanyahu. “This is my demand from all government ministries, and it will happen after a probe which will promise that the funds will get to their destination.”