Elad Mayor Yisrael Porush on Tuesday night responded to a harsh verbal attack leveled against him by Shas party chairman Interior Minister Aryeh Deri. According to Porush, Deri is running his election campaign on the backs of the residents of Elad, accusing Deri of torpedoing a planned business area expansion in Elad in his role on the Housing Cabinet.

Deri said earlier that “Porush cannot manage to pass a budget and he then spits in the well from which he drank over recent years, including a special monetary allocation he received yesterday for over NIS 7 million from Ben-Gurion Airport funding.”

Porush responded on Tuesday night, “The Torah teaches us do not take revenge! Do not take revenge on the residents for electing me! The proof that we are dealing with a political decision is my letter attached in which local leader support my declaration”.

The letter is from the head of the Southern HaSharon Regional Council, who backs Porush’s claim and calls on Deri to release the funding from the Housing Cabinet for Elad expansion.

The new business expansion project in Elad that is planned would provide a livelihood for many local residents, and it is badly needed, officials in City Hall explain. Porush insists that he has spoken to senior officials in the Housing Ministry as well as the Finance Ministry, and he has learned the allocation is ready but it was vetoed by Deri and Deri alone, who gave no reason for his actions.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)