CABINET COMMUNIQUE
At the weekly Izraeli Cabinet meeting today(Sunday), 23.10.11:
1. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the following remarks:
„Last week, we brought Gilad Shalit, alive and well, back to the State of Israel. I would like to thank you all for your part in the decision that we made. These were an exceptional two weeks of national unity, and now we are continuing to deal energetically with the many challenges that we took upon ourselves when this Government was established two-and-a-half years ago.
The Government is leading several major revolutions, the positive results of which we are already seeing in schools and in higher education, including universities. Today, we will add Jerusalem to the plan to encourage higher education studies among discharged soldiers, in continuation of what we did for the periphery.
The second revolution is in transportation infrastructures, in building expressways, interchanges and railways to the Galilee and the Negev, and in the center. I am certain that Israelis who traveled around the country during the recent holidays were suitably impressed by – and enjoyed – these projects, including the new Hamovil interchange. What used to be the Galilee bottleneck has now opened up the north. There is also Highway #431, from Modi’in to the Ayalon Highway, as well as other expressways and interchanges that are truly changing the face of the country.
Of course, there is the socio-economic revolution. Two weeks ago, we approved the general framework of the Trajtenberg report, and in the coming weeks we will approve – both here in the Cabinet and in the Knesset – detailed decisions on lowering the cost of living, including the goods and services paid for by Israeli citizens. The actions that we will take and the decisions that we will take will lower the costs of education for very young children, will lower purchase taxes and will make housing more available. I am convinced that a considerable portion of the Cabinet’s agenda in the coming weeks and months will be devoted to these issues.
Today we will also hear about progress in two additional important initiatives that the Government is promoting – environmental protection, and there are many developments, and the war on crime, in which there have been many achievements. We will continue to advance initiatives in all these areas which impact Israelis’ daily lives and the life of the country as a whole.”
2. The Cabinet approved draft amendments to the Jerusalem Development Authority Law so as to define Jerusalem as an assistance area regarding the 1994 Absorption of Discharged Soldiers Law.
The Cabinet instructed Deputy Minister Gila Gamliel and the Acting Director-General of the Prime Minister’s Office to consider incentives for members of the ultra-orthodox population who are studying prior to enlisting in the IDF.
Click here for further details.
3. Israel Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino and Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonivitch briefed ministers on the activities and objectives of the Israel Police and the Public Security Ministry, respectively. Click here for further details.
4. Pursuant to Israel’s membership in the OECD (click here and here for details) and in light of the 25.6.09 OECD member state finance ministers’ declaration on advancing green growth, the Cabinet decided to advance the national plan on green growth (defined as socio-economic growth and development that does not harm the environment, promotes the efficient, cost-effective and lasting us of natural resources, and promotes the creation of „green” jobs while maximizing opportunities for using clean growth engines). Click here for further details.
5. The Cabinet appointed retired Supreme Court Justice Dalia Dorner to chair a public commission to consider state policy on punishing and dealing with criminals. Click here for further details.
BreuerPress-info
