Are Yesha officials in for a rough ride?
צילום: עטא עוויסאת
Interior Ministry: Stop funds to settlers
Ministry paper says public money illegally used to finance anti-pullout campaign
JERUSALEM - Fund transfers to the Yesha Council should be stopped because municipalities in the West Bank illegally earmarked public funds for partisan political activities, according to head of the Interior Ministry’s Judea and Samaria Department Ruth Yosef.
Yosef made her accusation in a position paper presented on Wednesday before the High Court of Justice, and until the court rules on the matter, the ministry has ordered West Bank municipal and regional councils not to pass funds along to the settler body.
הפגנה מחאה נגד התנתקות מול ה כנסת מתנחלים גוש קטיף פינוי עזה (צילום: גיל יוחנן)
The issue was brought to the attention of the court by a petition from the Peace Now movement, which sought to investigate the funding of the Council and the money's ultimate destination.
Nearly three weeks ago, following an Interior Ministry investigation, the regional councils of Benjamin and Samaria as well as the municipal councils of Mount Hebron, Betar Ilit and Gush Etzion were prohibited from transferring funds to the Council.
Day in court
The findings aroused the suspicion that, over the last three years, the Council received funds far exceeding its operating needs, with the money purportedly earmarked to funding the anti-disengagement campaign.
Yosef ruled then that the heads of the five councils should appear at a hearing in her office to determine whether their activities were illegal, and if so, what punishment should be meted out.
Wednesday, the court heard the report written by Yosef two days ago, which said that rumors of administrative misconduct among the councils proved to be true.
The court ruled that until the matter was clarified, funding to the Yesha Council would be frozen for at least 45 days.
