The Israeli Knesset and the IDF are continuing to pave the way for the majority of the IDF training and command bases to be transferred to Israel’s south.
Recently, approximately $5 billion were earmarked for the transfer of IDF intelligence and communication bases to Israel’s south. In addition, some $800 million have been designated to support the families of officers and career soldiers and help ease the burden of relocating their lives to the southern area surrounding what has for a while been referred to as ‘Ir Habahadim’ or ‘training base city.'
The Knesset Spokespersons office issued a statement which said that seventy thousand shekels are being given to each officer who moves to the south, while two hundred thousand shekels are being given to the family of career soldiers to help alleviate the costs of the move. According to the statement these are just some of the benefits that the IDF is planning to offer soldiers who agree to move to the Negev in the framework of the relocation of the intelligence and communications bases to the south.
The amount was decided upon by the Knesset State Control Committee on Monday afternoon.
”It is important to check the [relocation] process as it is being carried out and not lament the failures in retrospect,” said Committee chairwoman MK Karin Elharrar (Yesh Atid). ”This is a welcome and decisive measure which is expected to bring economic and social growth to the south, but we must prepare for the absorption of career soldiers and their families as far as housing and educational, health and transportation infrastructures are concerned.”
”The direction is positive, but the urgent decisions – which must be reached through cooperation between all of the government ministries – are necessary so as not to delay the move,” she added.
In the IDF it is understood that the relocation of bases to the Negev is of national importance to all the systems in south Israel. While the Treasury has yet to approve the transfer of funds earmarked for the relocation of the bases and for supporting families of career soldiers who will move to the Negev, it is expected within the Knesset that this issue will be approved shortly.
Some NIS 19 billion have been designated for the transfer of the IDF intelligence and communications bases, and another NIS 3.2 billion have been designated to support career soldiers` families.
Later in the day the Knesset Finance Committee approved a 2.5 billion shekel increase to the yearly defense budget, which received a lot of negative feedback from members of the opposition.
Hezi Meshita of the Southern Relocation Administration in the Ministry of Defense said on the other hand that the budget for the entire project has been approved by the Treasury. He said the NIS 200,000 grant will be given to families of career soldiers who will reside in the Negev for at least five years.
Meshita urged the government ministries to prepare hundreds of housing units that will be rented out to soldiers during the relocation of the army bases.
MK Meir Cohen (Yesh Atid) argued that ”the relocation of the IDF is not awakening the Negev. Career soldiers were given houses in Omer for less than NIS 1 million, when the actual price of a house there is more than NIS 3 million, but the soldiers continue to live in central Israel and rent out their houses in Omer. Not one career soldier has relocated to Dimona, Ofakim, Yeruham or Be'er Sheva.”