The Internal Affairs and Environment Committee, chaired by MK Yaakov Asher (United Torah Judaism), convened on Wednesday for an emergency debate on the measures taken by the state and local authorities to care for residents whose homes were harmed in the Rising Lion war. In the debate, Moshe Rosh of the Israel Tax Authority (ITA) said that the ITA was preparing to transfer advance payments to the local authorities for a two-week stay in a hotel for people whose home was harmed in a missile attack, as well as for security for buildings that were hit and other municipal expenses incurred by the missile attacks.
Ministry of Interior Director General Ronen Peretz updated that in last night’s Government meeting, a Government resolution was passed stating that local authorities harmed in the missile attacks would receive NIS 1,500 for each resident whose home was harmed, and in addition each resident would receive NIS 500 for personal expenses. Peretz said that this was an “initial response,” in addition to property tax compensation categories. “It’s not a perfect package, but it allows us to manage the event properly. We will settle all the additional accounts with the local authority later,” he said. Peretz said further that the Ministry of Interior had full confidence in the heads of local authorities, stating that “the local authorities have full backing from the Ministry of Interior.”
Noa Shukrun of the Ministry of Finance Budget Department added, “It was urgent to provide an initial response at this stage of the war, certainly as an addition to the amount that will be given by property tax. The Israel Tax Authority will fund, for people whose home was harmed, alternative rental fees [as required] by law.”
Mayor of Bat Yam Tzvika Brot addressed the issue of rebuilding the homes that were hit, saying, “In sites that suffered widespread destruction, there’s no chance that we’ll succeed in advancing a town plan in less than five years. We have 120 dunams that were damaged. We’re talking about 75 buildings, 20 of which are slated for immediate demolition.” Brot proposed a solution according to which the state would create a mechanism enabling apartment owners to receive an apartment in an alternative location or money. He said that most of the owners of the apartments that were damaged were not Bat Yam residents, and for this reason they might prefer to receive money instead of an apartment, and this would enable the authorities to plan the area in an optimal fashion. He said further that the local authorities lacked the personnel to deal with the latest events.
Chairman of the Federation of Local Authorities in Israel Haim Bibas said that since the start of the Rising Lion war, the heads of local authorities had rallied to care for the home front. “It’s clear to everyone that the scope of destruction is unfamiliar. One of the things that have to be done immediately is to budget all the local authorities that are under threat and in a state of full vigilance. We demand that the Ministry of Finance budget personnel expenditures for the local authorities in the amount of NIS 5.1 million for workers who work full-time in the system, and beyond the overtime that the local authorities can pay,” he said. Bibas said further that there were currently 4,948 evacuees from [damaged] houses whose problems needed to be solved and who needed to be supplied with a housing package. “A person who decided to evacuate to a rental apartment and not to a hotel should receive rental fees for three months in advance,” Bibas said.
Rafi Elmaliach, Director General of the Israel Planning Administration, said that a suitable planning package would be assembled for each city.
MK Pnina Tameno Shete (National Unity Party) asked to provide a quick track for compensation claims for reservists whose home was hit. She also asked to ensure that the mortgages of residents whose home was hit would be frozen.
The meeting was attended by many Members of Knesset from coalition and opposition parliamentary groups.
Committee Chair MK Asher said that he would conduct a series of additional meetings on the issue in order to verify, among other things, the issue of freezing the mortgages and the aid for reservists. MK Asher announced that he would advance legislative amendments that would assist to rebuild the compounds that were damaged, addressing issues such as the majority of apartment owners needed to restore buildings that were destroyed. “We will provide an immediate legislative response to the regrettable situation that has befallen us,” said MK Asher.
