Extensive Rehabilitation of the Tkuma Region as a National Focus Area and Assistance to Adjacent Localities Bill

What does the bill do?

Under the law, the "Tkuma region" includes Sderot and the communities in the Eshkol, Hof Ashkelon, Sdot Negev and Sha'ar HaNegev regional councils that are located within up to 7 km of the Gaza Strip, according to the list of communities in the First Schedule. The comprehensive rehabilitation includes actions in all areas of life to be taken for the benefit of the region's communities and residents, including granting benefits, allocating resources and investing in development. This is with the aim of bringing about a full, rapid and optimal return to routine in the Tkuma region, promoting growth in it, encouraging demographic growth within it and strengthening the resilience of its residents. The provisions concerning the Tkuma region as a national focus area are valid for seven years from the law's commencement. In addition, the law anchors the roles and powers of the Tkuma Administration, which is a government auxiliary unit established by government decision and operating specifically for the benefit of the Tkuma region since October 2023. Among other things, the administration will work to formulate policy for the comprehensive rehabilitation of the Tkuma region in cooperation with government ministries and to implement it itself, or through the relevant government ministries in accordance with their powers and subject to their consent. The law provides that the Tkuma Administration's budget will be set as a separate program and that the head of the administration will be in charge of implementing the budget. The Tkuma Administration's period of activity will be 5 years, but the minister designated in the law as in charge of its implementation may, with the approval of the government and the approval of the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee, extend the administration's activity by order for additional periods not exceeding six years in total, if satisfied that this is necessary to implement the purposes of the law. In addition to the comprehensive rehabilitation of the Tkuma region, the law includes a separate chapter concerning assistance to communities adjacent to the Tkuma region that were harmed in the October 7 attack. Under the law, the government will set in its decision, within 14 days of the day the law is published in the Official Gazette (Reshumot) (hereinafter – the commencement date), the list of communities or areas that will be entitled to assistance and the criteria for including them in this list. In accordance with the government's decision, the Prime Minister or the minister authorized as in charge of that chapter will set, by order, the list of communities within the Second Schedule to the law. In addition, the government will set, within 3 months of the commencement date, the assistance actions that government ministries will carry out for the benefit of those communities or areas, according to their needs, their unique characteristics and the level of harm to them due to the October 7 attack.