Shas and Yisrael Beitenu have reached a compromise on the criteria for affordable housing. After tense talks behind the scenes yesterday, with the involvement of Prime Minister's Office director general Harel Locker, a deal was struck, which will temporarily settle the dispute between Minister of Housing and Construction Ariel Atias from Shas and Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdor Liberman and Minister of Tourism Stas Misezhnikov of Yisrael Beitenu.
The parties agreed that at Sunday's cabinet meeting, Yisrael Beitenu will forego inclusion of the exhaustion of earning capacity criterion for eligibility for affordable housing, and the cabinet will pass decisions amounting to NIS 1.5 benefits for immigrants. They also agreed that Yisrael Beitenu will desist from its efforts to torpedo the planning and building commission reform (the "balconies reform").
Earlier this week, Yisrael Beitenu blocked a Knesset debate on the reform, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is promoting, after Minister of Finance Yuval Steinitz signed the Israel Land Authority Council decision of January 30 on the affordable housing criteria, without the fulfilling of the earning capacity criterion, recommended by the Trajtenberg Committee.
Sources close to Netanyahu confirmed today that a deal had been reached with Yisrael Beitenu. They said that, on Sunday, the cabinet would approve a series of important measures that the prime minister supports and will move forward on them."
Aid for single parents
Under today's deal, the cabinet will discuss some of the Trajtenberg Committee's housing proposals, but not the key recommendation - giving priority in affordable housing projects to families that fulfill their earning capacity, either as a threshold condition or as a preferential condition. The cabinet will discuss assistance for vacate and build project procedures, assistance in planning for the Arab community and a budget of NIS 100 million, increased government aid and public housing inventory for eligible persons (mainly the handicapped), which will cost an estimated NIS 160 million. The cabinet will also probably discuss aid for hostels for elderly immigrants from Russia and Eastern Europe, at an estimated cost of NIS 110 million.
In addition, the cabinet will discuss aid for new immigrants, which was not mentioned by the Trajtenberg Committee, including increased rental subsidies, aid for handicapped new immigrants to buy an apartment in public housing, and increased mortgage subsidies for single parents to buy an apartment. The aid will be given by extending the definition of a new immigrant from 10 years to 15. Aid for hostels for elderly immigrants will be increased from NIS 160 million to NIS 650 million. Altogether, government aid for immigrants, which the cabinet is set to approve on Sunday, will total an estimated NIS 1.5 billion - NIS 320 million a year over five years.
Misezhnikov said in response, "We will not support the balconies reform until we are partners in the decision to whom to give priority in housing, just as we have demanded for months. We are the only party which says that earning capacity should be a threshold condition for all types of discount housing."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 15, 2012
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