Social Services allocates funds to those hurt by fire
Ministry of Welfare to distribute NIS 2,500 per person so families left homeless by Carmel blaze can purchase basic necessities.
By RUTH EGLASH
The Ministry of Welfare and Social Services announced Tuesday that it would be distributing some NIS 450,000 to welfare departments in the three municipalities effected by this past weekend’s fire on the Carmel Mountain.Isifyah, Tirat Hacarmel and Hof Hacarmel will receive the financial boost to help provide increased social services to individuals and families hurt by the disaster, which started last Thursday, killed more than 40 people and left hundreds homeless.RELATED:Father of Usfiya boy: My son didn't start the Carmel fireAhuva Tomer: Chief who refused to stay in the officeOn Monday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu called for the treasury to distribute emergency compensation of some NIS 2,500 to each person who cannot return to their home in the next month in order for them to purchase basic necessities, such as clothes and school books in the immediate days. The Finance Ministry transferred the funds to local authorities in the region on Tuesday.An estimated 250 homes were destroyed in the fire, with houses and other structures on Kibbutz Beit Oren and Kibbutz Yemin Orde, as well as in the nearby artists’ village of Ein Hod destroyed.