The Knesset State Control Committee blasted the IDF and Defense Ministry on Wednesday for ongoing parking fine debts, and for what committee members said was a selective repayment policy that favored richer municipalities. The committee noted that the military owes NIS 11 million in total to various local government bodies for parking violations involving vehicles it owns or soldiers on duty. It further accused the IDF of ignoring parking fine debts owed to poorer municipalities. In contrast, city municipalities like Jerusalem and Tel Aviv see repayment on tickets, the committee said. Knesset Member Amnon Cohen, chairman of the State Control Committee, called on the IDF to repay its debts in full, and stressed that the military received 70 percent discounts in parking fines. As an example, he noted how the IDF repaid just NIS 3.3m. of a NIS 9.5m. debt to the Jerusalem Municipality. The Defense Ministry told The Jerusalem Post in response to the allegations that “the defense establishment has not received any discounts. It reached agreements with local authorities over the scope of payment for parking fines, many of which expired, were illegally given and haven't been enforced in years.” Cohen, who is drafting a bill proposal to clearly define the role of a parking inspector, called on the Interior Ministry to end the “chaos” in this area. Ziad Assad, who represents the State Comptroller in the committee, accused the Defense Ministry of unequal treatment of municipalities, adding that it “ignores” the smaller local authorities. He listed Ramat Gan, Rehovot and Hadera as municipalities that still haven't seen payment of parking fines.
