The Minister of Tourism for Settlements
Yariv Levin, Minister of Tourism (2016-2019)
Settlement Watch Team, August 2023, Peace Now
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During Minister Yariv Levin’s tenure (2016-2019) as Minister of Tourism:
- – Close to half of Israel’s tourism development budget was allocated to plans in the settlements and East Jerusalem.
- – Over 37% of the development budget, nearly 350 million shekels, was allocated to projects associated with the right-wing and settler organization of Elad, operating in Palestinian neighborhoods in East Jerusalem.
- – 84.3% of the investments in Jerusalem went to the Elad settler organization.
- – In the settlements (excluding East Jerusalem), approximately 70% of the funds submitted for approval to the Ministry of Tourism were approved, while in Israel, only 20% were approved.
Each year, Israel invests hundreds of millions of shekels in promoting tourism projects in Israel and the settlements. Some of these investments are made by the Ministry of Tourism through the Development Budget Team (DBT), which approves requests from local authorities and various bodies for tourism project funding. The Movement for Freedom of Information (MFOI) succeeded in obtaining from the Ministry of Tourism the list of submitted requests and the projects approved by the Development Budget Team during Minister Levin’s tenure as Minister of Tourism (2016 to 2019).
During his tenure, out of an investment of 929 million shekels, approximately 424 million shekels (46%) were designated for projects beyond the Green Line in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
