The 'special state' in the north has been extended - compensation has stopped: "It is impossible that the state of emergency continues and the aid stops"
The government has extended the special state of emergency in the home front until August 11, 2026, but the compensation scheme for northern tourism businesses remains unrenewed. This creates a critical gap in support for the sector.
Following the security uncertainty, the government extended the declaration of a special state in the home front until August 11, 2026. At the same time, the compensation outline for tourism businesses in the north has not yet been extended.
The gap between the official recognition of the security situation and the lack of an economic response for businesses affected by it led the Director General of the Ministry of Tourism, Michael Itzhakov, to send a sharp letter today, Sunday, to the Chairman of the Finance Committee, MK Hanoch Milwidsky, demanding to urgently convene the committee to approve the extension of the compensation outline for businesses in the north.
"This is a vital move to maintain the continuity of business operations, jobs, and the ability of the tourism industry to recover with the return of stability," he wrote.
The Ministry of Tourism warns that the tourism sector in the north, which is the first to be hit by any security escalation, remains without certainty. According to the ministry, even in periods when there are no direct restrictions from the Home Front Command, businesses in the region continue to suffer from a wave of booking cancellations, a sharp decline in incoming tourism, and Israelis avoiding travel to the north. As a result, they are experiencing a significant decrease in activity turnover, while fixed expenses — including salaries, municipal taxes (arnona), and loan repayments — continue to accumulate.
In his letter, Itzhakov reveals a broader problem in the way the economic crisis is managed. On one hand, the state itself determines that the security threat still requires the extension of the state of emergency; on the other hand, the compensation mechanism is not updated automatically, and each time it is required to go through a separate and cumbersome bureaucratic process. The meaning is that businesses affected by the same circumstances may find themselves for weeks without a safety net, even though the government itself recognizes that the crisis has not yet ended.
The Ministry of Tourism warns that without an immediate extension of the compensation outline, some businesses will struggle to survive until the return of demand. According to them, it is not just about preserving hotels, B&Bs (tzimmers), attractions, and restaurants, but also about thousands of jobs and the ability of the tourism industry in the north to recover when the security situation stabilizes.
