Negev cities to receive 31.8 million dollars boost for housing, R&D, and airport plans

Netanyahu described the upcoming budget as “a significant and essential step toward completing the vision and national policy of developing the Negev and attracting population to the south.”

By Pesach Benson, TPS

Israel is set to invest $31.8 million in eastern Negev cities as part of a new plan to boost economic growth and population in the south, the Prime Minister’s Office and Finance Ministry announced Thursday.

Cabinet approval is scheduled for a special session in Dimona on Sunday.

The 2026 budget targets key sectors including infrastructure, public safety, transportation, energy, environmental projects, and innovation.

Among the initiatives, plans for the Mitzpe Ramon airport are moving forward, a hub for advanced energy technologies is being established, and Yeruham will expand R&D for unmanned aerial vehicles.

“In recent months, my government has advanced unprecedented national plans for Negev communities: government decisions for the ‘envelope of the envelope’ communities totaling NIS 3.2 billion [$1 billion],” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

He highlighted efforts to develop Beer-Sheva into a “metropolitan center” and strengthen Dimona “as a leading city in the Negev’s development,” alongside thousands of new housing units.

Netanyahu described the upcoming budget as “a significant and essential step toward completing the vision and national policy of developing the Negev and attracting population to the south.”

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich praised the ministries’ work, saying, “The Negev’s development is a central national interest of the State of Israel. … This is practical Zionism, bringing real opportunities, quality employment, and a high quality of life to the periphery.”

The plan comes on the heels of the government’s November approval of an NIS 1 billion plan to develop Beer-Sheva and the wider Negev region.

That initiative aims to expand the ecosystem connecting academia, industry, and the military while promoting innovation, cyber technologies, employment, tourism, and the revitalization of Beer-Sheva’s Old City as a hub for young residents and tourists.