Gov't to double soldiers' discharge bonus
IDF troops now to receive up to NIS 20,000 upon completion of military service, Yisrael Beiteinu says
Yisrael Beiteinu announced Sunday that the government will double the discharge bonus granted to IDF troops, raising the sum to NIS 20,000 ($5,380) in some cases.
The measure was one of the concessions offered to Avigdor Lieberman's party in exchange for its support of the Trajtenberg Report – a plan that urges the government to boost free education for young children, increase affordable housing and cut military spending.
Related stories:
- Cabinet approves Trajtenberg Report
According to the announcement, the discharge bonuses will be incrementally raised until 2016. Currently, the soldiers receive a bonus of NIS 9,500 ($2,550) upon completion of their mandatory military service. The dramatic development will primarily affect combat troops, although those who serve in combat supportive roles, on the home front and in Sherut Leumi will also get higher bonuses.
Yisrael Beiteinu's ministers, who last week expressed staunch opposition to the Trajtenberg Report, decided to support the recommendations after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Finance Ministry agreed to meet their demands. The report's affordable housing clauses were also altered as part of the agreement, allowing working parents, single-parent families and working individuals easier access to cheap land.
Affordable housing also part of bargain
The party also said that the government will sell roughly 180,000-200,000 housing units over the next five years, requiring the purchasing contractors to allot at least 20% of the land to affordable long-term rentals. The state will also subsidize the construction of 4,000 public housing units over the next three years.
The cabinet ministers voted 21-8 in favor of the Trajtenberg Report earlier on Sunday. Likud ministers Silvan Shalom and Yossi Peled, Independence ministers Ehud Barak and Matan Vilnai and the four Shas ministers voted against the recommendations.
Before the measures outlined in the report can be implemented, the cabinet must approve the various parts of the blueprint and then submit it for the Kesset's approval.
National Student Union Chairman Itzik Shmueli called the approval of the report "a grave mistake," warning that the protesters intend to continue the struggle for social justice "both on the streets and in hallways of the Knesset."
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