Netanyahu issued a statement shortly after the approval, naming the proposal as his and Smotrich's product, although the prime minister was absent for much of the approval meeting on Tuesday evening.Follow us on GoogleIsraeli security forces at the scene where a house was hit by an explosive drone launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon in Metula near the Israeli-Lebanese border, May 25, 2026.(photo credit: AYAL MARGOLIN/FLASH90)ByMAYA ZANGER-NADIS, BATYA GILADIJUNE 3, 2026 00:44The government approved a plan put forth by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Tuesday, which included three proposals to the government calling for 13 billion shekels to strengthen towns along the Lebanon border.These programs supplement the current 7-billion-shekel budget for northern communities. The new proposals bring the total to 20 billion shekels.What programs can a NIS 13b. budget furnish?The first of the three proposals focuses on building approximately 1,800 new public bomb shelters in Israel's Lebanon border communities and renovating an additional 500 public shelters. This project requires a budget of approximately 150 million shekels.The second proposal outlines a program that subsidizes the building of thousands of in-home bomb shelters, offers additional financial compensation to those whose homes have been damaged in the war, and funds efforts to strengthen the structural integrity of buildings up to 9km from the border. This part of the plan requires a budget of approximately 6.6 billion shekels.The third and final proposal consists of a five-year plan to rehabilitate the area from the effects of war and develop local infrastructure to encourage the population to stay and attract others to the border region. This includes reforms to healthcare infrastructure, transportation, local industry, agriculture, and more. The total projected budget is 5.6 billion shekels.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits IDF soldiers in southern Lebanon, published April 12, 2026. (credit: KOBI GIDEON/GPO)Netanyahu issued a statement shortly after the approval, naming the proposal as his and Smotrich's product, although the prime minister was absent for much of the relevant proceedings on Tuesday evening.'Dramatic decisions to strengthen the North'“What the Government approved today are dramatic decisions to strengthen the North," Netanyahu said on Tuesday night. "We are talking about the area from the Lebanese border line, nine kilometers south. This is an area that is crying out for development, and it is receiving it, first and foremost, through the strengthening of communities, infrastructure, and housing, as well as through an additional component, fortification.""Fortification is an addition to security," the prime minister added, "it is not the sole component of security, nor is it the foundation of security, but it is an addition to security in the major struggle we are waging against Hezbollah, and we will succeed in it."Earlier that evening, the Knesset held a special meeting on the North to discuss the relevant issues before the latest proposals were put to a vote in the plenum."Only three ministers came to the special meeting on the North," opposition leader Yair Lapid wrote on Twitter/X. "Netanyahu wasn't one of them."Yashar Party head Gadi Eisenkot also posted on Twitter/X, noting that "the prime minister was absent from the meeting on the North...the residents of the North deserve leadership that will see them and take care of them."Follow us on Google