Promise: Third of northern aid to go to Arab sector
In meeting between director-generals of government ministries and northern Arab sector leaders, director-general of Prime Minister's Office promises that third of aid to north will be allocated to Arab towns, but chastises them saying they must maintain higher property taxes. Nazareth mayor: Key word is partnership and I hope that with this we will start anew
Dinur took part in a meeting that took place in Nazareth between the director-generals of the government ministries and northern Israeli Arab sector leaders. This was the first meeting of its kind in which the PMO director-general responded to requests of National Committee members, and arrived in Nazareth to present budget allocations to the Arab sector.
According to figures presented during the meeting, the government will transfer NIS 2.8 billion (USD 643.1 million) for the development of the north. A third of this amount will be allocated to the Jewish sector, a third to the Arab sector, and a third to overarching infrastructure. An additional NIS 1.5 billion (USD 345.3 million) will be added by donations raised by the Joint and the Jewish Agency.
Dinur added that a majority of the Jewish organizations planning on donating money after the war expressed their willingness to donate to the Arab sector.
Chairman of Higher Arab Monitoring Committee Shawki Khatib, said, "This meeting has an important message. You are the first PMO director-general who has visited us. We hope that this time these are only promises."
Dinur spoke, in the spirit of the season, about the self reflection that, according to him, the two sides must do. "The purpose of the self reflection that we have performed is to see what we have done well and what we have less well," Dinur stated.
However, he also added, "Self reflection must be done not only about the way Arab citizens have been treated by the state, but also about the low property tax rates in the sector. It isn't reasonable to assume that we will seriously succeed to extricate the Arab authorities from their difficult situation without the Arab leaders making an unpopular act of leadership and promising to charge higher property tax."
At the end of the meeting in which the director-generals of the Education Ministry, the Welfare Ministry, and other senior clerks participated, Dinur promised that after the first half of 2007, the government will examine the success of the program and will learn lessons about the continued application of the plan until 2010.
"The success of the plan necessitates cooperation and continued dialogue," said Dinur.
Nazareth Mayor Ramez Jaraisi said, "We sense a new spirit in the willingness to build true partnership. The key word is cooperation and I hope that with this we will start anew."
