JERUSALEM: Israel on Sunday launched a 3-billion-shekel (around $940 million) plan to strengthen Druze and Circassian communities in the country, said Israeli Ministry of Finance in a statement.

This is a three-year plan approved by the Israeli government, with the aim of raising growth in the two minorities’ towns in northern Israel.

The plan includes planning and construction of homes, subsidising plots for discharged soldiers up to 400,000 shekels, massive investment in education system, improving infrastructure and transportation, integration of employees in hi-tech industries and the plan about a new Druze settlement.

According to the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, the Druze population in Israel numbers 150,000 people, about ten times higher than in 1948, the year in which the state of Israel was established.

In addition, the Circassian population in Israel is about 5,000 people.