Warnings ahead of High Court hearing: settlements will collapse, national service will lose thousands of volunteers
The High Court of Justice will hear a petition tomorrow against the transfer of coalition funds. The head of the Settlement Division warns of the collapse of peripheral settlements, and directors of national service organizations warn of halting the service of 4,000 volunteers.
The High Court of Justice will hear a petition tomorrow against the transfer of coalition funds, which was approved during the election recess. The head of the Settlement Division, Hoshaya Harari, warned in a letter to the government that freezing the funds would cause the collapse of settlements in the periphery, leading to immediate layoffs of professionals and halting absorption processes. He mentioned specific settlements at risk, including Neve Eitan, Ramat Trump, Samar, and Ir Ovot. Meanwhile, the seven directors of the organizations operating the national-civil service sent a letter to the director-general of the authority, Adi Vels, warning that stopping the dedicated budget of 74 million shekels would lead to halting the service of 4,000 volunteers in educational institutions, starting from the Sukkot holiday. According to them, volunteers who began their service year on September 1, 2026, would not be able to return to service. According to data received at the request of ynet, more than 100 million shekels approved for the Settlement Division's activities are frozen by the High Court. The crisis arose because settlements and organizations had already spent funds based on the grants.