The Minister for Protection of the Environment, Gilad Erdan, issued unusual criticism of a fellow minister Sunday, blaming Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz for “neglecting” the rehabilitation of the Carmel forest.
The forest was badly damaged in the horrific fire that took 44 lives last Chanukah and destroyed 25,000 dunams (over 6,000 acres) of forest land.
Erdan stated, “The Finance Minister prevented the rehabilitation of the nature and tourism infrastructure that was badly damaged in the blaze, and prevented the creation of a tree-free ‘safety strip’ between the communities and the forest, which is meant to prevent a future fire from spreading into the communities.
“It is very sad that the Finance Minister is willing to leave the Carmel, which was so badly hit by the fire, without promptly taking the necessary actions for care and rehabilitation.
“The Finance Ministry’s refusal to set aside even 55 million shekels will increase the risk of fires spreading, especially now in the scorching summer months.”
The Cabinet decided about six weeks ago to pay tens of millions of shekels for rehabilitating the Carmel. However, Erdan blames Steinitz for a later decision to postpone the actual setting aside of funds by at least two months.
The timing of Erdan's attack on Steinitz may be related to the ongoing attack by Israel's press on Steinitz, which is being mounted in conjunction with the housing protest.