Settlements top funding agenda of Israeli government

New data released by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics reveal that settlements are at the top of the list of Israeli government spending, according to the news site Arabs 48.

The Central Bureau of Statistics found that Israel approved almost 14,000 new settler homes during the nine months of the peace talks with the Palestinians. The data shows that the number of people moving into these settlements in the West Bank exceeds the number of individuals leaving them, which Israel considers a “positive balance”.

The settlement of Ma’ale Efrayim in the Jordan Valley topped the list of recipients of government spending. Per capita, each of the 11,000 settlers living in Ma’ale Efrayim received about 22,700 shekels worth of public money, or more than $6,500.

Another settlement, Immanuel, ranks second on the list. Government expenditure there reached 12,600 shekels per capita. The settlement of Kedumim comes third with 10,000 shekels of government spending per capita, then comes Kiryat Arba with 8,600 shekels per capita and then Karnei Shomron with 8,400 shekels per capita.

The data released by the Central Bureau of Statistics show that the only two areas under Israeli control that maintain a “positive balance” are central Israel and the West Bank.

According to the report, Israel’s major cities enjoy strong economies and do not need to have their budgets subsidised like the areas that do not have a source of income. This is why the cities come at the end of the list of those receiving government subsidies.

However, the Ma’ale Efrayim settlement receives eight times more public funds than an Arab populated town like Tira, which receives only 2,984 shekels per capita.

The government provides funding to the local authorities in many forms, such as standard budgetary grants, special grants and exceptional grants aimed at closing budget deficits.

The report also notes that almost all local authorities suffer from a budget deficit that has accumulated as a result of interest accrued on previous debts. 40 per cent of local authorities closed their budgets in 2012 with deficits totalling around 150 million shekels.