Jerusalem, 1 January, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Israel’s Ministry of the Interior said that, in 2025, the balancing grants amounted to a record amount of approximately 3.74 billion Shekels ($1.15 billion), as part of what it described as “the new balancing formula designed to correct historical distortions, deepen transparency, and strengthen the budgetary certainty of Local Authorities,” within which 300 million Shekels ($94 million) were added to the budget base for the distribution of balancing grants.

This as, towards the end of the budget year 2025, and after approval by the Knesset Finance Committee in the last hours of the year, the ministry transferred “record amounts” in funding to local authorities, including balancing grants, development grants, indemnity grants to authorities that were damaged during the Rising Lion war with Iran, and other special grants.

As part of the development grants to local authorities, approximately 1 billion Shekels ($310 million) and approximately 500 million Shekels ($156 million) in ongoing grants were transferred to authorities in a wide variety of areas (over 150 million Shekels, cumulatively, grants for the localities within the borders of Judea and Samaria, over 80 million Shekels to regional councils, over 80 million Shekels for budgeting housing incentives, and approximately 50 million Shekels for budgeting and developing bathing beaches, etc.).

Gil Tanenbaum

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