Knesset Members of the National Union-National Religious Party faction wrote to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Monday requesting that the city of Eilat, on the Red Sea at Israel's southernmost tip, be awarded preferential status. The MKs wrote that Eilat is suffering from subsidized competition by the neighboring cities of Aqaba and Taba, in Jordan and Egypt respectively.
NU-NRP faction chairman MK Uri Ariel, who has established a parliamentary lobby for the southern city, said that the government must get involved in providing Eilat with needed resources and services. The city, which MK Ariel called a "strategic asset of the State of Israel," suffers from an average income 24% lower than the rest of the country, and a demographic picture made up of many single-parent homes and temporary residents. In addition, as a resort town, Eilat is dependent almost exclusively on the tourism industry, which is fragile and highly susceptible to dramatic fluctuations depending on the political and security situation in the region.
The Jordanian and Egyptian governments, Ariel noted, have prioritized Eilat's neighboring towns, with Aqaba functioning as a free-trade zone and Taba on its way to that status. As a result, Aqaba and Taba enjoy investments of billions of dollars and threaten the status and economy of Eilat as a leading tourist destination in the region.
NU-NRP MKs called upon the government to become involved immediately and to
The Jordanian and Egyptian governments have prioritized Eilat's neighboring towns.
establish a committee dedicated to promoting the city as a full free-trade zone and to creating local sources of employment. The MKs would also like the committee to encourage professionals to settle in Eilat. For the purpose of implementing the desired measures, the MKs would like the state to establish an Eilat Development Authority, as well. The proposed committee would include representatives from the Ministries of Finance, Tourism, Industry and Trade, Transportation and from Eilat City Hall.
Although Eilat has been a free-trade and free port area since 1985, the MKs are seeking to extend further incentives to encourage business and industry in the city. As of now, among other benefits, Eilat-based businesses enjoy lower company taxes than elsewhere in Israel, most goods imported into the city and transactions within it are exempt from the otherwise ubiquitous Value Added Tax (VAT), and most goods purchased from elsewhere in Israel are VAT-free in Eilat.
Ironically, Eilat's competition with nearby Taba has only come about as a result of the fact that Israel relinquished the town to Egypt in 1988, following international pressure and mediation. At the time, Israel had developed Taba over the course of 20 years into a tourist resort.
NU-NRP faction chairman MK Uri Ariel, who has established a parliamentary lobby for the southern city, said that the government must get involved in providing Eilat with needed resources and services. The city, which MK Ariel called a "strategic asset of the State of Israel," suffers from an average income 24% lower than the rest of the country, and a demographic picture made up of many single-parent homes and temporary residents. In addition, as a resort town, Eilat is dependent almost exclusively on the tourism industry, which is fragile and highly susceptible to dramatic fluctuations depending on the political and security situation in the region.
The Jordanian and Egyptian governments, Ariel noted, have prioritized Eilat's neighboring towns, with Aqaba functioning as a free-trade zone and Taba on its way to that status. As a result, Aqaba and Taba enjoy investments of billions of dollars and threaten the status and economy of Eilat as a leading tourist destination in the region.
NU-NRP MKs called upon the government to become involved immediately and to
The Jordanian and Egyptian governments have prioritized Eilat's neighboring towns.
establish a committee dedicated to promoting the city as a full free-trade zone and to creating local sources of employment. The MKs would also like the committee to encourage professionals to settle in Eilat. For the purpose of implementing the desired measures, the MKs would like the state to establish an Eilat Development Authority, as well. The proposed committee would include representatives from the Ministries of Finance, Tourism, Industry and Trade, Transportation and from Eilat City Hall. Although Eilat has been a free-trade and free port area since 1985, the MKs are seeking to extend further incentives to encourage business and industry in the city. As of now, among other benefits, Eilat-based businesses enjoy lower company taxes than elsewhere in Israel, most goods imported into the city and transactions within it are exempt from the otherwise ubiquitous Value Added Tax (VAT), and most goods purchased from elsewhere in Israel are VAT-free in Eilat.
Ironically, Eilat's competition with nearby Taba has only come about as a result of the fact that Israel relinquished the town to Egypt in 1988, following international pressure and mediation. At the time, Israel had developed Taba over the course of 20 years into a tourist resort.