The construction of a new town in the Lower Galilee, to be called Ramat Arbel, was approved by the government on Sunday.
Goldknopf toured the Galilee on Thursday as part of his policy to strengthen the Jewish presence and settlement in the area. To further these goals, Goldknopf announced that on Sunday he plans to bring forward a bill proposal for the first establishment of a new town in years, which will be named Ramat Arbel.
"Beyond increasing supply and lowering housing prices, this has important news for strengthening Jewish settlement in the Galilee," Goldknopf stated.
The plan is a cooperation of Goldknopf's ministry with the ministries of Development of the Negev and Galilee and National Resilience Minister Yitzhak Wasserlauf, Aliyah and Integration Minister Ofir Sofer, and National Missions Minister Orit Struck. In the first stage, the initial planning of the settlement will be financed with millions of shekels.
Multiple Israeli ministries cooperated to advance the plan
"We promised, and we keep. In the election campaign and also in the coalition agreements, we promised to establish a new settlement in the Galilee - 'Ramat Arbel' and now it is coming to fruition," Wasserlauf said. "On Sunday, together with Housing Minister Goldknopf, we will submit the establishment of the Ramat Arbel settlement to the government's decision."
Ramat Arbel is planned to be a community settlement, where about 500 families, some of them recent immigrants, will be able to live.
Goldknopf received an overview of the site and the general area designated for the establishment of the new settlement and talked with people from the settlement nucleus, which is already in place, about the strategic importance of the new town.
Minister Ofir Sofer added: "As a resident of the Galilee and as someone who accompanied the road to the establishment of the settlement in Ramat Arbel, I am happy to take part in the decision to plan and establish the settlement. This step will strengthen the Galilee and the settlement will be geared towards absorbing immigrant families."