Smotrich accuses housing minister of ‘giving priority to Arabs’ purchasing land in north; Goldknopf rejects ‘spin’

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich writes to Housing and Construction Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf, complaining that the Israel Lands Administration is taking steps to “give priority to Arabs in purchasing land in the north of the country.”

“This is an unacceptable decision, especially at a time when reservists are bearing a heavy burden, and many Jewish families are having difficulty purchasing land due to legal barriers and administrative difficulties systematically piled up against them,” the far-right minister declares.

In response, Goldknopf’s office says it “rejects with disgust the finance minister’s attempt at spin” and states that under Goldknopf, 20 percent of spots in the government’s housing lottery this summer were reserved for IDF reservists. Those who win the housing lottery are given a chance to buy newly built apartments at below-market price.

“Minister Goldknopf is working in every way to assist and benefit reserve soldiers, and therefore, after numerous meetings held by the construction and housing minister with the leadership of the Druze community, and in light of the distress in the development of these communities, it was decided to renew the previous [government’s] decision in order to strengthen the communities, most of whose sons take an active part in the fighting.”