Finance Minister Simcha Ehrlich has requested 76 million for the construction of additional housing at three settlements on the West Bank. But the Knesset Finance Committee postponed a decision today, pending further information from Housing Minister Gideon Patt and Minister of Agriculture Ariel Sharon who heads the ministerial settlement committee.
The money, to be transferred from the reserve budget, would finance 590 housing units in Givon. Hares and Karnei Shomron, all located in the Samaria district. The requested sum is only part of the IL 279 million earmarked by the Treasury to “thicken” the three settlements. A senior Treasury official explained that some IL 35 million was originally intended for the Yamit region but became available for the West Bank when work was halted around Yamit after the Camp David agreements.
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