We present here an explanation and updates regarding the payment of a return grant to evacuees who returned home:
- On 23.11.24, the Government Resolution no. 1193 was passed – providing that the settlements located in a 4-7 km radius in the south would be allowed to return to their homes gradually.
Anyone who returns home will receive for each day – NIS 200 for an adult, NIS 100 for a child (same as the occupancy grant).
The National Insurance promoted the implementation of the decision and reached the stage of publication, but that process was delayed due to the government's intention to pass an amending decision. - On 29.2.24, the government passed a decision (Resolution no. 1478) regarding the return grants – which are payment to residents who have been evacuated from their homes and are now allowed to come back. The decision states that for all residents of the south, except for red settlements, such as Bari, Nir Oz, Kfar Aza, etc. – there is no impediment to returning to their home and those who do so will receive a one-time grant, according to the date on which they left the hotel to return to their homes.
- The National Insurance began to act toward the implementation of this decision, but on 7.3.24 there was another amendment in which the dates were changed regarding the eligibility for a one-time grant. Unlike past decisions that were not coordinated with the National Insurance, in the decision of 7.3.24, it was emphasized by the National Insurance that the date of payment will be determined in accordance with the overall required preparations and depends on: the required legislative process, the development of decision-supporting computer systems that are able to pay anyone who returns to his home according to family composition, date of return, transfer of data from relevant government ministries, etc.
For the record:
The legislative process based on the clause 9 of the Agreement (the fastest legislative procedure in the country today) is as follows:
- Government decision
- Entering into discussions with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice on the details of the agreement, its implementation, introduction of important parameters, such as the need for extraordinary committees, etc.
- Upon reaching a final agreement – the agreement is immediately transferred for approval to the National Insurance Administration and the National Insurance Council (a matter of a few hours).
- Publication of the agreement for public comments.
- Consultation in a discussion in the Labor and Welfare Committee in the Knesset of Israel.
- Publication in the records at the same time as starting the implementation of the agreement on the basis of what was approved by the committee.
- The Government's decision of March 7 regarding the one-time grants is currently in the publication stage – a stage due to end today, on 21.3.24, at midnight. To view the agreement published to the public, click here.
- It should be noted that there are more refinements to the agreement and at this time there is a discussion with the Treasury, also based on the experience of the National Insurance Institute in implementing different payments of various grants that were implemented by us and at the beginning of next week – the agreement that is expected to be transferred to the Knesset for discussion in the Labor and Welfare Committee through the Minister of Labor.
- After that – scheduling the discussion in the Labor and Welfare Committee depends on the timetable of the committee to be determined by them.
- As mentioned above, after this stage there is more time to prepare for the development of the implementation of the final decision that will be determined and adjusted to eligible citizens, each according to its own parameters.
The employees of the National Insurance Institute will continue to work nights and days both in the benefits system and in the computerization and service systems - in order to do as much as possible to develop systems in zero time and transfer payment even before the Passover holiday.