Cabinet approves NIS 60m. for disaster’s damages

Netanyahu: No delays. No bureaucracy. "I want all of the people, within days, to be able to return to their homes or to alternative housing."

By TOVAH LAZAROFF
Netanyahu sad Carmel 311 (photo credit: Guy Assayag)
Netanyahu sad Carmel 311
(photo credit: Guy Assayag)
The cabinet on Sunday allocated NIS 60 million for local councils and communities harmed by the Carmel blaze, as part of an initial plan to repair property and help victims.
Eyal Gabai, director-general of the Prime Minister's Office, was asked to supervise the work of all relevant ministries in executing the plan and restoring normal life in the burned-out areas.
This cabinet’s approval of the first phase of a larger financial effort involves compensating local councils for damages, fire-fighting efforts, clean-up operations and infrastructure repairs.
The money will also be used to reimburse local councils for the costs of evacuating and absorbing displaced persons.
The full rehabilitation and compensation costs have yet to be worked out.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said that additional budgets would be allocated and approved if necessary.
“We must help the evacuees rebuild their homes and rehabilitate the infrastructures and do so as quickly as possible,” Netanyahu told the cabinet, which had moved its weekly meeting from Jerusalem to Tirat Carmel, south of Haifa, to show solidarity with the victims of the blaze.
“I do not want delays. I do not want bureaucracy. I want processes to be shortened.
I want quick solutions.
I want all of the people, within days, to be able to return to their homes or to alternative housing, until the reconstruction work is finished,” Netanyahu said.
He asked Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz to submit, within four days, information on the damage and on insurance coverage. Steinitz was also asked to come up with a plan, within eight days, for damages that were not fully insured.
The cabinet asked the Government Housing Administration to provide modular housing and public structures, in place of those buildings that were burned.
Supplemental assistance will be given to social welfare and social services networks in the damaged areas.
Turning to the issue of the Carmel Nature Reserve, the cabinet said that a plan was needed to restore animal and plant life, including camp grounds and the Carmel Farm.
“Today, we will also launch the action that will lead to a plan to rehabilitate the Carmel forests. On this issue, I would like to thank the Environmental Protection Ministry, the Nature and Parks Authority, and the Jewish National Fund. I know that you are doing much on this matter, especially now,” the prime minister said.