PM wants NIS 50M for firefighting planes

Netanyahu's plan consists of leasing four to six mid-sized planes, as 'manufacturing them would take too long'

Ronen Medzini |Published: 12.26.10 , 14:22

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would allocate NIS 50 million (about $14 million) for the leasing of firefighting planes in the aftermath of the devastating fire in the Carmel region.

"Purchasing these planes is a longer process, and it would take years to manufacture them," he told Sunday's weekly cabinet meeting. "Therefore, we've decided to lease so that Israel may have an aerial firefighting force in the near future."

Last week military officials told the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that the cost of establishing a firefighting squadron may reach "billions of shekels."

The squadron is expected to consist of four to six mid-sized planes, such as those Greece sent to help douse the Carmel blaze, which claimed the lives of 44 people.

Ynet has learned that planes similar to the firefighting aircraft Greece sent cost $26 million each.

The PM continued to say that the reconstruction work in communities that were damaged during the inferno is progressing.