A month after the closure of Sde Dov Airport, a move that infuriated Eilat residents because it will make it more cumbersome to fly to and from the city, the cabinet will hold a special meeting Sunday to discuss a new development plan for the area.
Eilat, with a population of some 65,000, has long been considered a Likud stronghold – with 43% of the ballots cast there in the April election going to Likud, as opposed to 26% for Blue and White – and there is concern inside the Likud that the closing of Sde Dov could cut into that support.
Tel Aviv’s Sde Dov Airport, which conveniently serviced Eilat, closed at midnight on June 30, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing strong protests from Eilat residents and its Likud mayor, Meir Yitzhak Halevi.
After the airport closed, and in what some viewed a “consolation prize,” Netanyahu instructed the Finance Ministry and Transportation Ministry to submit within three weeks a NIS 400 million development plan for the southern city and the Eilot Regional Council.
This is the plan to be discussed on Sunday at the cabinet meeting. Netanyahu is expected to head an interministerial committee to ensure its implementation.