(Jerusalem Post-Israel Hayom-UPI) Herb Keinon - The Israeli Cabinet on Sunday added a number of kibbutzim, Arab towns, and small Jewish settlements to the national priority list for state benefits. At the same time, a number of settlements that had been on the list were removed, including the large communities of Betar Illit and Efrat. Construction and Housing Minister Uri Ariel said the decision on which communities to include was based on purely professional and objective criteria, including security considerations, economic health, distance from the center of the country, and proximity to a border. Some of the communities on the list were populated by those who had lived in Gaza before the 2005 disengagement.
2013-08-07 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive