Tax Authority Halts Bnei Brak War-Damage Claim Processing After Attacks

The Israel Tax Authority halted processing of Bnei Brak residents’ war-damage compensation claims on Friday after two violent attacks on its inspectors within about a week. Director Shay Aharonovitch told Mayor Hanoch Zeibert that Compensation Fund staff would stop handling property damage from Operation Rising Lion and Operation Roaring Lion until the municipality issues an unequivocal public condemnation. During Thursday’s incident in Kiryat Vizhnitz, a crowd surrounded the inspectors’ vehicle, threw eggs and damaged its windows before police extracted them. The authority also asked that the condemnation appear in Haredi media; Bnei Brak had not responded when the reports were published.