Israel’s fifth IKEA branch is scheduled to open in the Matte Yehuda Regional Council area, in proximity to Beit Shemesh. The new store will provide employment for 400 people, Globes reports.

The new branch will be located near Moshav Eshtaol, occupying a 25,000 square meter area, set to open in the first quarter of 2020.

YWN-Israel in January 2018 reported the new branch was originally supposed to be in the Malcha area of the capital but the bureaucracy surrounding obtaining the required permits drove IEKA to the Mate Yehuda Regional Council area, to the dismay of Jerusalem shoppers and to the delight of many Beit Shemesh residents.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)