Miriam Feirberg resigns as head of fire victims taskforce

Netanya mayor says she was impressed by PMO chief's handling of rehabilitation process and does not see need for "intervention."

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Firefighter Israel Flag 311 (photo credit: Associated Press)
Firefighter Israel Flag 311
(photo credit: Associated Press)
Netanya Mayor Miriam Feirberg on Wednesday morning announced her resignation as head of the special taskforce to deal with victims of the Carmel fire.
In a letter sent to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Feirberg wrote: "During the tour of the communities damaged by the Carmel fire, I was impressed by PMO chief Eyal Gabay's leading of the rehabilitation process with efficiency and with the full cooperation of all the director-generals of the various ministries and governmental bodies. Therefore I do not see the need for further intervention on my part in the current process."
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Feirberg did not take part in the director-generals' committee's Tuesday tour of the communities affected by the fire.
Earlier Tuesday, Knesset speaker Reuven Rivlin criticized the prime minister's decision to appoint Feirberg as head of the team charged with ensuring that life for those harmed by the fire would return to normal “as soon as possible.”
Rivlin said, "A situation has arisen in which the Knesset does almost no work on Tuesdays, when MKs are running errands and the ministers are probably too busy, and therefore we're forced to bring in Miriam Feirberg to handle the damages of the disaster," Rivlin stated."
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu appointed Feirberg as head of the team on Monday.
During a press conference, Netanyahu announced that families whose homes were destroyed in the fire and cannot return home within the next month will receive temporary compensation of NIS 2,500 per person to purchase basic necessities, such as clothes and school books in the immediate days.
Netanyahu said he hoped that the rehabilitation stage can be cut to “days and weeks."Herb Keinon and Ruth Eglash contributed to this report.