'Jerusalem precedes territories'
38th annual 'Jerusalem Day:' Finance minister says boosting capital comes before strengthening of territories, Galilee, Negev regions; government grants NIS 40 million to Jerusalem for faster train to Tel Aviv and reconstruction of city center during
JERUSALEM - The strengthening of Jerusalem takes precedence over the enhancement of any other area in the country, including Jewish settlements in the territories, Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday during a cabinet meeting marking the 38th annual "Jerusalem Day."
"The enhancement of Jerusalem must come before everything else, including the strengthening of areas such as the territories, the Galilee and the Negev," he said.
During the meeting the government approved a series of measures meant to enhance Jerusalem, including plans for a "fast" train from the capital to Tel Aviv that is expected to be completed by 2009.
The project, due to cost NIS 3.4 billion (USD 771 million), will cut the hour-and-a-half ride for travelers on the existing Jerusalem-Tel Aviv line, which opened earlier this year, to 29 minutes, officials said.
”I am sure all the ministers understand the importance of connecting Jerusalem to the coast,” Prime Minister Ariel Sharon told his cabinet. “The train project is a great achievement for Israel.”
Interior ministry officials presented plans that showed the tracks would run through 20 kilometers (12 miles) of tunnels and said seven kilometers (four miles) would be built as bridges.
City granted NIS 40 million on 'Jerusalem Day'
The government also allocated a special annual budget of NIS 40 million to Jerusalem (USD 9 million) for the purpose of reconstructing its midtown complexes during the next few years.
”I expect this aid package will bring a drastic decrease in the negative migration and a rise in the number of technology centers and in the use of the city’s potential,” Jerusalem's Mayor Uri Lupolianski said.
Thousands marched and celebrated in the holy city to mark Israel’s annual “Jerusalem Day,” commemorating the time when Israel recaptured the city and united its western and eastern parts during the 1967 Six-Day War.
Palestinians want east Jerusalem as part of a future independent state. Sharon has vowed to keep the city as Israel’s undivided, eternal capital.
