BREAKING NEWS

Cabinet approves plan to transfer KKL-JNF funds to ministry

Bringing an end to years of negotiations between the government and Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund, the cabinet approved on Sunday an agreement to enable the transfer of funds from the organization to both the state’s coffers and to the Environmental Protection Ministry.
According to the deal, KKL-JNF will transfer in 2016 some NIS 1 billion directly to the state, for projects that receive the approval of a “Committee for National Initiatives,” administered jointly by the government and by KKL-JNF. In addition to these funds, KKL-JNF will in 2016 transfer another NIS 190 million to the Environmental Protection Ministry, to be designated for green projects as agreed upon by the environmental protection minister and the KKLJNF chairman, the ministry said.
From 2017 through 2021, KKLJNF is to continue to allocate funds for the activities of the Committee for National Initiatives, with the amounts varying based on a specific formula presented in the agreement.
The deal approved on Sunday was the result of negotiations that took place between Environmental Protection Minister Avi Gabbay and KKL-JNF representatives, at the behest of Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“This agreement creates an enormous annual budget for environmental needs, and together with KKL-JNF we will advance Israel to a very green place,” Gabbay said on Sunday.