Chairman of the local government and head of the Merhavim Council, Shai Hajaj, visited the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council today (Tuesday) and met with council head, Israel Ganz.
Hajaj attacked the Minister of Finance’s statements regarding funds transferred to communities in Judea and Samaria. “Decision makers have not yet understood – the first line of protection for Tel Aviv, Kfar Saba and Ra'anana is the entire region of Binyamin and Judea and Samaria. Just as in the south we are Be'er Sheva’s protection from Gaza, so it is with the communities in Judea and Samaria. It's time to stop treating the funds as coalition agreements. This region is no different from other places and they need to receive an organized budget, so that they can continue to be the protector of the State of Israel."
Ganz thanked his colleague and said that "There is an offensive campaign against Judea and Samaria as if we are receiving a budget that we do not deserve as citizens of Israel. Almost every day I visit homes of families in our area who have lost a child in the war, and at the same time are attacked by politicians and other parties who try to discredit us, as if we are asking for a budget that we don't deserve."
He also said, "The statement that these are coalition agreements between parties is delusional. At times when our children are fighting together in the south and in the north, here in Judea and Samaria it is our obligation to protect our homes. Our region protects Jerusalem and the center of the country. The breach of the fences from Gaza on October 7 into the settlements of the south, could happen here as well from Ramallah, Tul Karem and Jenin into Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa. The state has an obligation to prevent this and to protect the residents who are living here as well. In today's state there is no place for divisions between different colors of blood. We are all brothers. I thank my friend Shai Hajaj for his visit and expression of support for the residents of Binyamin and Judea and Samaria," Ganz concluded.