News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) Northern communities are striking schools and municipal services Wednesday to protest the government's cancellation of tax breaks. The mayor of Kiryat Shmona charged that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Finance Minister Ronnie Bar-On have refused to meet with northern leaders to discuss the cancellation.

Galilee leaders said that the government is breaking its promise to provide assistance to the area following the Second Lebanon War and instead is placing economic hardships on them by eliminating tax credits. They said they also will demonstrate in the center of the country, as Sderot residents did earlier this week when they tied up traffic on the Ayalon Highway in Tel Aviv.