He added: This is not only the problem of Kiryat Shmona – but it is the face of the State of Israel
The State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman is conducting today (Monday, 3.6.24) a tour of the north. The Comptroller toured Kiryat Shmona and met with the Mayor Avichai Stern and subsequently he will meet today with the Head of the Mevo'ot HaHermon Council Beni Ben-Muvchar and with the Head of the Metula Council David Azulay. Today's tour is the continuation of a similar tour that took place last Wednesday in Shlomi and Fassuta.
The Comptroller referred to the harsh reality in the city and said: "The feeling is that the Israeli government does not regard the treatment of the residents of Kiryat Shmona as a government task. They have left the treatment of the residents at the doorstep of the municipality and the government parties are not there and they are not dealing with the residents' needs. A city where more than twenty thousand of its residents are in more than 300 hotels and approximately 400 centers. It is inconceivable that 5,000 children from Kiryat Shmona will experience another lost year. The State of Israel is lacking any short- and long-term strategy. Right now, we must formulate a plan for the day after, regarding the return of the residents home and the necessary rehabilitation. And alongside this – dealing with the present. The reality that it is the municipality that must find solutions for study places all over the State of Israel is impossible. The Minister of Education must be recruited in this matter.
The State of Israel has failed in evacuating the residents and even now it is not rectifying the defects. Without government assistance, without the government ministers coming here just as I am here today. To sit with the mayor, to hear about the challenges of the residents' and the businesses' needs in education, welfare and employment. Involvement is required right now, both in the accompaniment of the city and its evacuees and in thinking about the tomorrow that is about to come.
State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman visits Kiryat Shmona
We at the State Audit are currently working diligently on a series of reports on war matters. There were those who said – Wait, leave it for a while, do not get into audit now. And I am saying – No! At this very time the citizens of Israel need the State Audit. And the first audits that we shall publish are on the issue of the population evacuation.
The fact that tens of thousands of residents of the north have been evacuated from their homes must cause sleepless nights and all the government parties must rally round. It is inconceivable that they tell the Mayor of Kiryat Shmona – "The matter is under your care".
I am calling upon the Prime Minister not to content himself with the same initial government decision passed concerning the reinforcement of the north and the government effort required to return the residents of the north to their homes. We must already now arrange for a government decision that will deal with the day after, with the return of the residents to their homes and with the creation of a framework for the rehabilitation and reinforcement of Kiryat Shmona and northern Israel.
Residents who leave the hotels and go to rented apartments are faced with extortionate prices. It is inconceivable that an apartment in Tiberias or Nahariya, where the rent used to be 3,000 or 4,000 shekels – should be rented out for 10,000 shekels. There are those who are taking advantage of the situation and I call upon the Ministers of Finance and Housing to do something about the matter, and particularly before the beginning of the school year, in preparation for which many families will wish to move to rented apartments.
From here, I am also calling upon the Minister of Education, it is inconceivable that the children of Kiryat Shmona will be left behind – this concerns preschoolers, where some of the hotels have closed their nurseries, and students who are compelled to study for just 3 days a week and who are adversely affected by a shortage of teachers".
