MK Moti Yogev
MK Moti Yogevspokesperson

The Knesset Subcommittee on Judea and Samaria held a meeting on the promotion of road and lighting projects in Judea and Samaria Monday. The meeting was headed by Committee Chairman MK Moti Yogev.

The committee asked the Defense and Finance Ministries to present a complete report on the state of planning and budgeting of the roads in Judea and Samaria, as well as a work plan for finalizing the planning and execution of the program.

The meeting took place against the backdrop of a demonstration and hunger strike by the heads of the local authorities and families of terror victims demanding that the roads and security components in Judea and Samaria be budgeted and the government promised to transfer NIS 800 million to upgrade security arrangements in Judea and Samaria.

At the opening of the committee meeting, MK Yogev said, "The 800 million promised now ia important, but it is a paltry sum that does not fill the needs of the growing communities in Judea and Samaria. We are approaching half a million residents. When taken together with the Arab residents, it is evident that the current situation cannot be maintained. NIS 800 million is the price of one interchange in Rosh Ha'ayin. We appreciate the current allocation, but we need much more."

During the meeting, representatives of the Transportation and Defense Ministries presented the planning procedures for all the main roads in Judea and Samaria and the next stages required for implementation.

MK Yogev said: "It is time to look at Judea and Samaria in a big way, to make master plans for Judea and Samaria. As in the rest of the country, [these should be] master plans that will provide solutions 30 and 50 years ahead in both the length and width of the roads that will connect Judea and Samaria to the rest of the country, including a plan for trains and other transportation elements. Investing millions for nothing, without a comprehensive view, will not help at all."

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman's Secretary for Settlement Affairs, Kobi Eliraz, said at the meeting: "There is an order by the defense minister to carry out a comprehensive plan for Judea and Samaria. All the professionals are meeting now, and [the plan] must be presented to the minister within a month. The upgrading of the roads requires a decade. Judea and Samaria have been negelcted relative to the rest of the country. Route 60 from Alon Shvut to Jerusalem, from Ibiza to Tapuach, these roads have to be large, wide, and have interchanges, You have to plan a train to Ariel. All these things must be prioritized."