Last update - 00:00 26/07/2007
Knesset approves aid package for residents living near Gaza border
By Zvi Zrahiya, Haaretz correspondent
The Knesset unanimously passed on Wednesday an aid bill for the residents of Sderot and other Negev communities living under regular fire from Qassam rockets launched from the Gaza Strip.
The bill will require an allotment of some NIS 200 million in state funds per year. It was initiated by Finance Committees Chair MK Stas Misezhnikov (Yisrael Beiteinu), who was backed by 78 MKs supporting the law. The government had also approved the bill.
Misezhnikov called the passing of the bill a "historic moment. For the first time in seven years, an inclusive plan was passed to aid and save Sderot and the towns of the western Negev."
The law stipulates that Sderot and western Negev homes within seven kilometers of the security fence surrounding the Gaza Strip will receive certain benefits.
The legislation was written as a temporary order for 2007, but, pending the approval of the chairman of the Finance Minister and the Finance Commitee, the 25 percent reduction in income taxes extended to the Negev residents will remain in effect for the 2008 fiscal year as well.
The income tax reduction will total some NIS 197,00, which is a similar figure to the total discount given to residents of the northern city of Kiryat Shmona, which was dealt a heavy blow in last summer's war with Hezbollah. The law also reduces employers' taxes, grants extra lessons for students in the 11th and 12th grades and funds the transportation of teachers not from Gaza border communities who give lessons in the area.