A meeting to assess the situation against the backdrop of the wave of fires in Haifa was held this evening (Muchash) with the participation of Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, at the Romma Sports Hall in the city.
Kahlon asked the representatives to deal with the issue with the residents who were damaged and to act according to the highest sensitivity scale, to show understanding and to be generous. "The victimized citizen will receive initial service from the state and the citizen will not be allowed to be tortured."
The meeting was held with the participation of representatives from the National Emergency Authority, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Internal Security, the Mayor of Haifa and other representatives from the municipality. This is a second yeshiva held following the wave of fires in Haifa. The Raushna took place in Jerusalem and the evening as mentioned in Haifa.
According to Kahlon: "In principle, we work in three circles: the Ministry of Finance and the government are prepared for an emergency and we are operating this system these days. The first circle is in front of the security forces and government ministries, hospitals, fire brigade and police. We add budgets and enable action. The second circle is in front of the citizens whose homes were damaged and public institutions. Following my conversation with the head of the investigation division, we will activate the property tax and provide an answer to the affected citizens, and we will do everything that is necessary with the Haifa municipality, I will personally be a representative here Etzioni. And the treasury management will be here during the week or on Tuesday or Wednesday and will hear the residents' problems. The Israeli government will be here until the smoke clears."
As a window to the representatives: "I ask to act according to the scale of the highest sensitivity. The person in front of you went through something not easy and I ask you to show understanding. Assessing damage and renting houses is not an easy job. We are here as a government and as a municipality because it is our duty. These are good citizens who pay taxes and we collect from them throughout the year Taxes and now they need us, don't bother them from office to office, be generous, shorten the processes as much as possible and be as sensitive and humane as possible."
"We will take care of everything and then if we have to deal with private bodies following a negligent fire and not arson, we will."
A one-time grant of NIS 2500 for citizens who will not be able to return to their homes
It was also agreed at the meeting that citizens who, according to the decision of the city engineer, will not be able to return to their homes, will immediately receive from the municipality a one-time grant of NIS 2500 per person according to the number of people in the family. In addition, according to the directive of the Minister of Finance, starting tomorrow morning, 4 central emergency centers of the Property Tax Fund will be activated for the welfare of the residents, with the aim of providing an immediate response to those whose property has been damaged.
Contacting the hotline will be done by the following means:
- Contacting the tax authority's call center with the number *4954
- By filing a claim on the Tax Authority website.
- Using the application of the Tax Authority.