News / Palestine

Arab local councils protest funding freeze by Israeli minister

Monday, 21 August 2023 5:07 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 21 August 2023 5:07 PM ]

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (file photo by Getty Images)

Arab local councils across the occupied Palestinian territories have protested against the suspension of funding ordered by Israel’s finance minister.

Videos circulating on social media on Monday showed the regime’s police pushing some of the demonstrators outside the finance ministry building who chanted, “Violent police!”

The police also restrained the hands of a woman who lay prone on the ground, her forehead bleeding.

Earlier this month, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a key member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet, suspended at least 200 million shekels ($52.75 million) of funds allocated for Arab municipalities.

Reacting to the move, Israeli opposition leader and former Prime Minister Yair Lapid said it was racist, and amounted to “abusing Arab citizens simply because they are Arab.”

Smotrich is notorious for making inflammatory statements.

The mayor of the Arab city of Umm al-Fahm, Samir Mahameed, told Israeli Army Radio on Monday the finance minister was casting Arabs as thieves and criminals, which was “ridiculous” and “false.”

“This is survival money, not a luxury,” said Mahameed, explaining that the funds were meant to assist in fighting soaring crime. “This is a struggle for our lives.”

Israel's hawkish minister to allocate $180m to settlements in occupied West Bank

The hawkish minister intends to submit plans despite criticism for withholding budget from Palestinian citizens across Israeli occupied territories.

Certain Arab municipalities have said they may not open schools in September in a public display of discontent.

Arab citizens, most of whom descendants of Palestinians, make up virtually a fifth of the population in the occupied Palestinian territories.

In comparison with the Jews, the Arab minority has for decades faced social and economic disparities, including a high poverty rate, overcrowded towns lacking a suitable infrastructure and poorly-funded schools.

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