The chairman of the Finance Committee, MK Moshe Gafni (UTJ), expressed in closed conversations his support for the transfer of the budget which Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionism) has frozen to Arab local authorities.
According to Kan, the members of the Finance Committee from the coalition and the opposition are considering drafting a letter to the Minister of Finance demanding that the funds be transferred to the authorities for fear of financial collapse.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich responded Tuesday to criticism leveled at him after he decided to freeze for two months a five-year plan of NIS 2.5 billion for investments in Jerusalem's Arab neighborhoods and various Arab authorities, including NIS 200 million for higher education institutions.
"The money has no professional justification, except for the political need of the heads of the authorities before the local elections," Smotrich said in an interview with Reshet Bet.
He added, "When I was Minister of Transportation I invested more than my predecessors in Arab society. Even now, as we invest according to the five-year plan, we try to invest well."
According to the Finance Minister, the Finance officials also opposed him in the previous government and passed the decision against their opinion. "This money will not be transferred, period," he concluded.
Smotrich froze the funds due to the opposition to the transfer of NIS 200 million to the Hebrew University's preparatory school for the integration of Arabs in academia and higher education.