Kiryat Shmona Threatens Cutoff

The northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona has threatened to close off the Galil to the rest of the country if a regional aid package which was canceled is not reinstated.

“Someone felt it was easier to simply erase the budget meant for the residents of the north because ‘the north doesn’t interest anyone.’ We say that yes, the north needs to interest the state of Israel,” Kiryat Shmona mayor Nissim Malka told Arutz Sheva on Monday.

Malka warned that they are determined to secure the promised funding, even if extreme measures are needed.

“This won’t be our last word, this was our first shot and every day we’ll work harder, even if it means we end up closing off cities. We won’t allow anyone into any Galil cities,” he said.

Malka noted that plans had already been made to allocate the expected monies. According to the plans, the eastern Galil would receive a research and science institute, as well as help in developing a hi-tech industry. The plans aim to bring back some of the younger population that had deserted the north due to a lack of employment opportunities.

In 2015, the Israeli government announced it would build “the next Modi’in” in Israel’s north, but so far it has not been happening.