A new haredi city is planned for the Bnei Shimon Regional Council in the northern Negev.
The new city, which has been given the name, "Tila," is expected to grow to a population of 80,000, and will include 15,000 housing units.
On Tuesday evening, Tila received approval from the National Building and Planning Council, in accordance with decisions made during the previous government's term.
Tila's approval comes two weeks after the first meeting of a council planning the construction of Kasif, a city which at one point was criticized by the haredi parties.
Interior Minister Moshe Arbel (Shas) said, "The announcement of a new town in the Land of Israel is a great merit and a special blessing for the citizens of Israel. I praise Shas chief Aryeh Deri for the fact that we are now meriting to implement the policy which he began together with the Construction and Housing Minister in the previous term, and advanced it now with even greater force together with Construction and Housing Minister Yitzchak Goldknopf, to be implemented in the current government."
Construction and Housing Minister Yitzchak Goldknopf (United Torah Judaism) said, "I rejoice and praise the advancement of the initiative to found a new haredi city in the Negev, and therefore I am filled with appreciation for my friend, the former Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, who initiated and led this process."
"In addition to the great contribution in bringing down the cost of housing by increasing supply, we are also carrying out a historic correction, as part of the lessons we learned from the State Comptroller's report, which as recalled declared explicitly that the haredi population has been neglected when it comes to housing. Today, many young couples, some of them parents to young children, live against their will in housing units where the conditions are less than normal. The new cities targeted [to them] are an opportunity for them to have appropriate and affordable housing."