After Knesset opposition members yesterday succeeded in blocking the transfer of funds to the Jewish community in Hevron due to a lack of a coalition majority in the Finance Committee, the Committee held a revote today and passed the transfer of budget surplus from the 2015-2016 year, some 36 million shekels, to the Tourism Ministry and, in addition, some 1.9 million shekels to the Settlement Committee of the Jewish community of Hevron.
While the special transfer to the Tourism Ministry was related to the late approval date of last year’s budget, the special transfer to the Hevron Jewish community stemmed from the fact that Hevron is considered a “Palestinian city” and not a local municipality, meaning that funds cannot be transferred regularly within the framework of the budget, but only as a “special transfer.”