Netanyahu visits Nahariya
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has toured Nahariya where last week a man drowned after rescuing passengers trapped in a flooded car.
Motti Ben-Shabbat saw a babyseat in the car and went back into the water mistakenly believing there was a baby still trapped in the vehicle. He disappeared in the water and was found later drowned.
The area had been hit by fierce storms.
Prime Minister Netanyahu meets Motti’s family Photo: Koby Gideon (GPO)
Prime Minister Netanyahu heard from Motti’s parents about their son’s special personality and his efforts to assist in the rescue of a family from the flooding in Nahariya. The Prime Minister told the family, “Motti was a great hero. He will always be in our hearts, until the last day.”
Accompanied by Nahariya Mayor Ronen Marelli, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “I have come to Nahariya with Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz and Construction, and Housing Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton. We first had a hard visit, consoling the Ben-Shabbat family. It was really heart-rending to see the parents, Chava and Danny, his daughter and the sisters, an amazing family with a great hero who saved others and was swept away to his death. We know that it is very hard to offer consolation but the public’s love for them still gives some comfort.
We are here with Mayor Ronen Marelli and we are presenting NIS 5 million in preliminary and immediate assistance to the city today, and another NIS 20 million next week in order to deal – on a preliminary basis – with those problems that must be resolved, and we will resolve them. Nature has been cruel but for this, there are people with the heart and the ability to take action, and this is what we will do.
Netanyahu tours the city Photo: Koby Gideon (GPO)
I would like to commend the citizens. The heroism that I saw in Motti is unforgettable. I also saw it in you, Abu Hasan, who came from Maalot-Tarshiha and helped in the flooding. The water did not distinguish between Jews and non-Jews, and our common fate here also finds expression in your action and that of others who are standing here and I commend you. We will act for everyone.”
Following the tour, Prime Minister held a discussion on the damages from the storm and an assistance plan for the city. The Prime Minister noted that in coordination with Interior Minister Deri, it has been decided to provide the city with a preliminary NIS 5 million grant. An additional NIS 20 million will be transferred for formulating a special outline for the rehabilitation of the city. The outline will be formulated under the aegis of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in cooperation with the Finance and Interior ministries and will be agreed upon in the coming days.
PMO Acting Director-General Ronen Peretz, Interior Ministry Director-General Mordechai Cohen, and Housing and Construction Ministry Director-General Benny Dreyfus also attended the tour and discussion.
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More flood mitigation works and suburban street drainage is needed.