Labor, city leaders petition Israel's High Court against Arnona Fund

The Labor Party and local authorities filed a petition against the Arnona Fund to the High Court of Justice on Wednesday, including local authorities from cities that stand to benefit from the fund, according to Maariv.

The petition noted a number of flaws in the way the Fund was legislation, including that it was largely advanced during Operation Shield and Arrow, when many local leaders were unable to take part in the discussions in the Knesset.

The suit additionally claims that the Fund will cause an increase in the "sense of injustice that the residents and citizens of the State of Israel will feel. The granting of the exemption to the residents of the local authorities in Judea and Samaria from paying money to the Fund also stems from the fact that the government wants to benefit this population which is identified with it in the voting patterns. In this way, the government openly prefers one group over another, in a way that would harm the disadvantaged group that does not receive this benefit."

"Drawing a balance between the hypothetical benefits that may arise from the law, and the severe violation of constitutional human rights, and in particular the right to equality of citizens and residents of the State of Israel who are not residents of Judea and Samaria, undoubtedly leads to an unequivocal result - the damage from the arrangement exceeds any benefit that may arise from it."

The suit stresses that Arab local authorities are particularly worse off in light of their socioeconomic position and an understanding that they are not expected to benefit from the Fund.

What is the Arnona Fund?

The Arnona Fund, approved in the Economic Arrangements Bill (EAB) alongside the state budget, takes some of the earnings from the non-residential municipal taxes (Arnona) of wealthier local authorities and redistributes to weaker ones as grants based on the number of residential building permits approved by them.