Within a week, a task force, appointed by Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu, will determine the financial framework for solving the crisis and outline a recovery plan for each local authority.
The battle between the Union of Local Authorities in Israel and the Ministry of Finance is heating up. All local authority heads and deputies will hold a demonstration opposite the Prime Minister's Office during next Sunday's cabinet meeting. Beginning the following Sunday, the local authorities will shut all services to residents.
The Union of Local Authorities campaign headquarters claims that during the week preceding the strike, "will give Prime Minister Ariel Sharon a chance to get serious and call off the Ministries of the Interior and Finance policy of drying out the residents and employees of local authorities."
At a meeting of the campaign headquarters, Union of Local Authorities chairman Adi Eldar said, "The Minister of Finance is exploiting the public's lack of information to incite against the local authorities' heads."
At a meeting at Minister of Finance Benjamin Netanyahu's office, attended by Minister of the Interior Avraham Poraz and Minister without portfolio Meir Sheetrit, a task force was instructed to find immediate solutions to the local authorities crisis. Within a week, the task force will determine the financial framework for solving the crisis and outline a recovery plan for each local authority.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on January 22, 2004