Netanyahu Promises Major Northern Development Push After Special Cabinet Meeting in Nof HaGalil

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opened a special government meeting in Nof HaGalil on Thursday by presenting a development package for northern Israel’s core cities, including Nof HaGalil, Acre, Karmiel, Safed, Afula, Nazareth and Tiberias. He said the government’s goal is to replicate the investment and development model used in southern Israel after IDF operations. “What we did in the south will be done in the north, that is our vision,” he said.

Netanyahu stressed security, saying the IDF is still striking Hezbollah and that “hundreds of terrorists” are being killed each week. He said drone threats remain a specific challenge, adding, “We are working on it. We will restore security to the north, and create security in the north as we did in the south.” He also promised major investment in infrastructure and renewal across business, transport, housing, health and education, saying, “This is a huge package for the core cities, a huge boost.”

The cabinet later approved a northern development plan worth about 4 billion shekels, following last week’s separate decision on border communities totaling about 18 billion shekels. The new plan is meant to give residents in the Galilee, villages and towns a broad support package to attract new residents, with a focus on education, health, personal security and resilience centers. The cities singled out are Safed, Acre, Nof HaGalil, Nazareth, Afula, Tiberias and Karmiel.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the combined investment of about 21 billion shekels is intended to turn the Galilee into a national growth engine. “We are not only rebuilding the north, but building it a new and promising future,” he said, describing the move as a deeper transformation rather than just repairing war damage. Ophir Schick, chairman of Lev BaGalil, welcomed the decision and said the government is finally shifting from crisis response to a strategic Zionist initiative, while warning that the effort must continue through to the end.