Prime Minister's Office Director-General Raanan Dinur told reporters, "The government will act in the short term to return life to its normal path, in the medium term to allocate resources for initial rehabilitation in the private and public spheres, and in the long term to form comprehensive plans to strengthen the north."
Dinur was flanked by the directors of the Health Ministry, the Tax Authority, and the Welfare and National Insurance Institute Administrations.
Interior Minister Eli Yishai announced that he had appointed former Likud MK Ehud Yatom - a former senior General Security Service official - as responsible for "restoring stability to the north." His job will include mapping out the places where businesses were harmed, helping factories that were damaged, and tendering swift help to small businesses.
Among the aid packages currently offered by government agencies are deferments of income tax payments, Value Added Tax revenues and national insurance installments. The government is arranging for loans to small businesses, and $600 per month in rental assistance for residents whose homes have been destroyed or damaged.
Thirteen million shekels are to be allocated to dozens of local authorities to cover immediate needs, such as the purchase of home appliances and transportation for medical purposes. The Ministry of Labor and Welfare is seeking another 50 million shekels for support groups and support training for municipal employees.
As part of the government initiative, official spokesmen, directors-general of cabinet ministries and government ministers have been instructed to visit and work in the north at least two days a week. Mayors of the northern municipalities met with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Tuesday evening.
Long-Term Plans
Among the long-term plans for the northern communities are rehabilitation of the municipal health and education systems, the completion of the northern extension of the cross-Israel toll road (Highway 6), a railway extension to Carmiel, and financial and tax incentives for Galilee businesses and residents.
In addition to government funding, monies for the long-term plans are slated to be raised from overseas donors.
Other Initiatives
The most immediate government assistance on offer are free trips on public transportation for all displaced residents of the north who return home by the end of the week.
Israel's emergency medical service, Magen David Adom, announced today that hundreds of its volunteers and employees will hand out thousands of packages of food to the elderly on Wednesday in the northern border town of Kiryat Shmona, which was evacuated in the later stages of the war in Lebanon. The MDA will also help the elderly residents of the town reorganize themselves in their homes after having spent so long in bomb shelters or away from the region.
In another initiative aimed at easing the burden for northern residents and institutions, Knesset Member Yaakov Litzman (United Torah Judaism) proposed that the Interior Ministry offer the five hospitals located in the north a municipal tax break for the current year, as well as slashing annual municipal taxes for all northern residents by 50%. Ram Belenikov, director general of the Interior Ministry, said that his office will issue a formal reply to the proposed tax breaks next week. As of now, however, he said that he looks favorably upon the idea of municipal tax breaks for the region's hospitals; however, he believes that an across-the-board municipal tax cut may hurt the cities in question and make their recovery more difficult. Therefore, Belenikov suggested the possibility of an objective test of current financial ability to pay the municipal home-owners' tax in question.
Also on Tuesday, mayors of northern cities and towns met at a regional forum established to discuss the issues facing front-line communities. Among the issues raised was the Ministry of Education's instructions to open the school year nationwide as usual in September. The mayors expressed their doubts over the possibility of so swiftly overcoming the psychological effects of the war on the school children, and they have submitted a request that every school be assigned a psychologist. The mayors also despaired of repairing all of the schools that were physically damaged in Hizbullah attacks before the planned start of the school year.
On Wednesday, Education Minister Yuli Tamir announced that schools across the country would open on Sunday, Sept. 3, instead of Friday, Sept. 1.
As of July 27, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Finance Minister Avraham Hirschson agreed that parliamentary talks regarding the 2007 national budget would resume only in September. This has enabled government offices to work on providing assistance to residents in northern communities.
Dinur was flanked by the directors of the Health Ministry, the Tax Authority, and the Welfare and National Insurance Institute Administrations.
Interior Minister Eli Yishai announced that he had appointed former Likud MK Ehud Yatom - a former senior General Security Service official - as responsible for "restoring stability to the north." His job will include mapping out the places where businesses were harmed, helping factories that were damaged, and tendering swift help to small businesses.
Among the aid packages currently offered by government agencies are deferments of income tax payments, Value Added Tax revenues and national insurance installments. The government is arranging for loans to small businesses, and $600 per month in rental assistance for residents whose homes have been destroyed or damaged.
Thirteen million shekels are to be allocated to dozens of local authorities to cover immediate needs, such as the purchase of home appliances and transportation for medical purposes. The Ministry of Labor and Welfare is seeking another 50 million shekels for support groups and support training for municipal employees.
As part of the government initiative, official spokesmen, directors-general of cabinet ministries and government ministers have been instructed to visit and work in the north at least two days a week. Mayors of the northern municipalities met with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Tuesday evening.
Long-Term Plans
Among the long-term plans for the northern communities are rehabilitation of the municipal health and education systems, the completion of the northern extension of the cross-Israel toll road (Highway 6), a railway extension to Carmiel, and financial and tax incentives for Galilee businesses and residents.
In addition to government funding, monies for the long-term plans are slated to be raised from overseas donors.
Other Initiatives
The most immediate government assistance on offer are free trips on public transportation for all displaced residents of the north who return home by the end of the week.
Israel's emergency medical service, Magen David Adom, announced today that hundreds of its volunteers and employees will hand out thousands of packages of food to the elderly on Wednesday in the northern border town of Kiryat Shmona, which was evacuated in the later stages of the war in Lebanon. The MDA will also help the elderly residents of the town reorganize themselves in their homes after having spent so long in bomb shelters or away from the region.
In another initiative aimed at easing the burden for northern residents and institutions, Knesset Member Yaakov Litzman (United Torah Judaism) proposed that the Interior Ministry offer the five hospitals located in the north a municipal tax break for the current year, as well as slashing annual municipal taxes for all northern residents by 50%. Ram Belenikov, director general of the Interior Ministry, said that his office will issue a formal reply to the proposed tax breaks next week. As of now, however, he said that he looks favorably upon the idea of municipal tax breaks for the region's hospitals; however, he believes that an across-the-board municipal tax cut may hurt the cities in question and make their recovery more difficult. Therefore, Belenikov suggested the possibility of an objective test of current financial ability to pay the municipal home-owners' tax in question.
Also on Tuesday, mayors of northern cities and towns met at a regional forum established to discuss the issues facing front-line communities. Among the issues raised was the Ministry of Education's instructions to open the school year nationwide as usual in September. The mayors expressed their doubts over the possibility of so swiftly overcoming the psychological effects of the war on the school children, and they have submitted a request that every school be assigned a psychologist. The mayors also despaired of repairing all of the schools that were physically damaged in Hizbullah attacks before the planned start of the school year.
On Wednesday, Education Minister Yuli Tamir announced that schools across the country would open on Sunday, Sept. 3, instead of Friday, Sept. 1.
As of July 27, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Finance Minister Avraham Hirschson agreed that parliamentary talks regarding the 2007 national budget would resume only in September. This has enabled government offices to work on providing assistance to residents in northern communities.