A plan to compensate residents of northern Israel for damage sustained in last month’s Katyusha rocket attacks was approved this week by the Israeli government.
The government of Prime Minister Shimon Peres approved Sunday a special budget allocation of more than $250 million to be disbursed over a three-year period.
The compensation plan calls for direct aid to residents, as well as aid for economic and infrastructure development projects.
More than 700 Katyusha rockets fired from Lebanon by Hezbollah fighters rained down on northern Israel during Operation Grapes of Wrath, Israel’s 16-day onslaught against the militant Islamic movement that ended with a U.S.-brokered cease-fire April 26.
The plan’s adoption came as Kiryat Shmona residents demonstrated Sunday outside the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, protesting what they said was slow government compensation payment.
Finance Ministry officials denied any hold-up in the payment of compensation, saying that claims were paid within three days after being filed.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
