Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich decided to freeze a special grant of NIS 200 million that was promised by the previous government to Arab communities, Kan News reported.
According to the report, the Finance Minister is re-examining what to do with the money under to the current government's priorities.
Smotrich froze the funds which were supposed to include the transfer of funds to the Hebrew University's preparatory school for the integration of Arabs in academia and higher education. The minister says that the funding does not reach its destinations and instead finds its way to the hands of criminal elements in the sector, while to begin with, keeping Arab youth at risk off the streets through learning employable skills is needed much more than another funds-draining academic program.
Interior and Health Minister Moshe Arbel addressed a letter to Smotrich in recent days and demanded that he transfer the funds to the authorities as soon as possible, in order to prevent damage to these community's budgetary balance.
According to Arbel, the Arab authorities made commitments based on the government's commitment to provide the funds, and the failure to transfer them may put them in a financial hole.
Despite the request, Smotrich is refusing to transfer the money and wants to reconsider what to do with it.
According to Arbel and officials at the Interior Ministry, the freezing of the funds may cost the country much more in the long term.