Settlements get higher government grants than other municipalities, study finds

Adva Center study finds that settlement municipalities were recipients of higher government grants for services such as education and welfare from 1991-2012.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Palestinian laborers work on a construction site in a religious Jewish settlement in the West Bank. [File] (photo credit: REUTERS)
Palestinian laborers work on a construction site in a religious Jewish settlement in the West Bank. [File]
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Settlement municipalities are the recipients of the highest government grants, a study released Tuesday by the Adva Center which explores the years 1991-2012 found.
The report considers "the settlements" Jewish municipalities in the Palestinian territories and the Golan Heights. The report also differentiates between the three haredi settlements – Betar Ilit, Modiin and Emanuel – and the other Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territories.
The study found that settlements had been the recipients of the highest central government service grants, for education and social welfare, as well as the recipient of the highest balance grants, to decrease the accumulated deficit of low-income local authorities.
"Between 1991 and 2012, the highest service grants, per capita, were registered in the settlements. In 2012 the amount was NIS 2,695 per capita, on average, in comparison with NIS 2,277 in Arab localities, NIS 1,892 in Jewish development towns and NIS 1,684 in "Forum of 15" localities, according to the study. "Forum of 15" localities refers to relatively affluent localities with balanced budgets.
The study found that the population of Israel had increased by 60 percent over the last two decades. "The greatest rate of growth – 240 percent, was registered in the settlements, where most of growth actually took place in the three haredi settlements, whose growth rate amounted to 376 percent, while the rest of the settlements grew by 80 percent – closer to the overall average," according to the Adva Center.
The study found the highest per capita local income in the "Forum of 15" municipalities (NIS 5,401), followed by Jewish development towns (NIS 3,626), settlements (NIS 2,690) and Arab localities (NIS 1,406).
"The local income of non-haredi settlements is about twice as high as that of the haredi settlements – NIS 3,049 compared with NIS 1,464," according to the report.
The haredi settlements Betar Ilit, Modiin and Emanuel showed similar per capita income to that of the Arab localities. "In both cases we are talking about localities lacking independent infrastructure and therefore no tax base and whose residents are characterized by the highest poverty levels in Israel: above 50 percent," the Adva Center stated.
The study also examined expenditures by municipalities, finding that in 2012, non-haredi settlements had the highest outlay at NIS 7,416 per capita. Haredi settlements and Arab localities had the lowest per capita expenditures, with NIS 3,596 and NIS 4,688 respectively.