Jackie Levy
Jackie LevyHezki Baruch

The earthquakes that have taken place in our region over the past two days only strengthen my position on issues such as the project to rehabilitate neighborhoods and strengthen structures against earthquakes, which I have been fighting in recent years as Deputy Construction and Housing Minister.

Not only did I warn, I also acted and led to a budget of about NIS 60 million ($16.5 million) in each of the past three years in favor of strengthening buildings against earthquakes from a project to rehabilitate neighborhoods in my direction.

High-risk buildings located on the Jordan Rift Valley, such as Beit Shean, Tiberias, Eilat and Tzfat, have received priority and buildings in these cities have been strengthened. This is an important step and a beginning for future budgeting in the coming years.

The Israeli government must understand that this earthquake threat is a ticking time bomb, and it must invest a great deal of money in order to prevent a grave disaster that could befall the State of Israel at any moment.