Ra’am says that the so-called change bloc agreed to over NIS 53 billion ($16.3 billion) in budgets and government development plans for Arab society.
According to a statement by the Islamist party, Bennett and Lapid pledged NIS 30 billion over five years as an economic stimulus, as well as another NIS 2.5 million ($770,000) to fight violence and organized crime in Arab society.
Another NIS 20 million ($6 million) will be invested over the next 10 years to fix crumbling infrastructure in Arab cities and towns, Ra’am says.
Three Bedouin unrecognized villages — Abda, Khashm al-Zena, and Rakhma — are set to be legalized in a government decision, according to Ra’am.
As for the controversial 2017 Kaminitz law targeting illegal Arab construction, Ra’am says there will be discussions on amending it over the next six months. In the meantime, a decision already in place to freeze parts of the law will be extended until 2024.
Some in Netanyahu’s camp were skeptical that the change bloc’s promises to Ra’am would come to fruition.
“This is all empty talk. It’s lies. What did they get? Just political games,” seethes Likud MK Fateen Mulla in a phone call with The Times of Israel.
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Wednesday, June 2, 2021
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