The northern border communities were on strike today, protesting the government decision to cut their tax benefits by half. The cutbacks come in the framework of budget slashes decided upon earlier this week, which also include the halving of tax benefits in Yesha and the Negev and other hard-hitting measures. \"These cuts will lead to the immediate closing of many businesses,\" Northern Front Communities Forum head Shlomo Buchbut told Arutz-7 this morning. Buchbut, formerly the mayor of Maalot, said that the local economy, which is already suffering the consequences of the Hizbullah threat, would not be able to withstand a further blow.
On the other hand, the other areas hit by this cut are not striking. Be\'er Sheva Mayor Yaakov Turner, who helped lead the campaign to obtain the full tax breaks for the Negev, says that now is not the right time for struggles of this nature.