North and South call for more effective compensation plans as Israel faces dual recovery challenges

The Homeward forum, which includes 11 communities from Israel’s South who were victims of the Hamas October 7 attacks, called on the government and finance minister on Monday to approve the Tkuma (rebirth) law – a law that would define budgets for rebuilding the South.

The failure to pass a law a year after the attack is “an injustice to the residents and communities, preventing the recovery of the Gaza border area and the return of residents to their homes as determined by the government,” said the forum.

“The State of Israel is heading, with eyes wide open, toward relinquishing the recovery of the Gaza border area.”

The forum called on the government to include the Tkuma law in the Economic Arrangements Bill and approve it as quickly as possible in the Knesset since “any delay in its approval prevents the recovery of the communities and the prompt return of residents to their homes.”

The Knesset Finance Committee also discussed budgets for the rehabilitation of the South on Tuesday, saying that a NIS 5 billion budget for development is frozen and calling on it to be released and put to use.

North, South rehabilitation

The budget is held up because the borders of the area for which it has been allocated have yet to be determined, a Finance Ministry representative said at the meeting.

While NIS 19b. has been approved, 5b. of these remain frozen, waiting for the delineation of the area included in the rehabilitation.

On Tuesday, the committee also discussed compensation for those harmed on Israel’s northern border. The Finance Ministry’s representative presented to the committee the expansion of the areas that qualify for compensation.

The ministry representative said they would make an effort to publish clear guidelines for compensation by the end of next week.

Some participants in the meeting, including municipal leaders from the North and MKs, welcomed the expansion by the ministry, saying that it provides vital funding for areas in need.

The ministry was criticized by others for failing to address the needs of areas outside of the zones already receiving compensation sooner; some highlighted additional economic damage not covered in the current proposal.

“We’re talking about dozens of barrages with hundreds of rockets falling on the city of Safed,” said Deputy Mayor Yisrael Meir. “In such a situation, following Home Front Command instructions [on which compensation is based] becomes irrelevant. Tourism in the city is finished, and the city relies on it. Look at the [businesses’ finances] and see that not a single shekel is coming into these businesses.”

“The evacuees are no longer in hotels in the city; tourism is not coming to the city— not international tourism and not domestic tourism,” said a hotel owner from Tiberius. “Not including the city in the recovery program is an unbelievable injustice.”