Israel Land Administration

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The Israel Land Administration (ILA; Hebrew: מנהל מקרקעי ישראל‎; Arabic: مديرية أراضي اسرائيل‎) ("Minhal Mekarka'ei Yisrael") is an Israeli government authority responsible for managing land in Israel which is in the public domain.[1] It manages 93% of the land in the country.[2] As a result of reforms soon it will be transformed into Israel Land Authority.

Creation

Israel Land Administration was created in 1960 as a result of the Knesset legislature to oversee the distribution and protection of all public lands in Israel. According to the Basic law: Israel lands (חוק יסוד: מקרקעי ישראל), ILA manages the land in Israel that is either property of the state, the Jewish National Fund (JNF) or the Development Authority. Today it is responsible for some 4,820,500 acres (19,508,000 dunams) that constitute 93% of Israel's lands.[3] The remaining 7% of land is either privately owned or under the protection of religious authorities.

Functions

Policy objectives

Legal framework

Four Israeli laws form the legal basis of its land policy:

Structure

The Israel Land Council sets policy for the ILA. It is chaired by Israel's Vice Prime Minister, the Minister of Industry, Trade, Labor and Communications. The Council has 22 members; 12 represent government ministries and 10 represent the Jewish National Fund. The Director General of the ILA is appointed by the government.[3]

Departments

Land ownership issues

"Ownership" of real estate in Israel usually means leasing rights from the ILA for a period of 49 or 98 years. The Israel Lands Administration distinguishes between urban land and agricultural land: Urban land is leased for periods of 49 years with an option to extend the lease for another period of 49 years.[5] In practice though the rights granted to leaseholders under the current Israeli leasehold system closely resemble full property rights.[6]

Under Israeli law, the Israel Land Administration cannot lease land to foreign nationals. In practice foreigners may be allowed to lease if they show that they are eligible to immigrate to Israel in accordance with the Law of Return.[7] In 2000, the High Court ruled that the State may not allocate land to its citizens on the basis of religion or nationality, even if it allocates the land through a third party such as the Jewish Agency. The Court's decision precludes any restrictions on the leasing or sale of land based on nationality, religion, or any other discriminatory category.[8]

Reforms

As a part of reforms started in 2009 the Israel Land Administration will be dismantled and Israel Land Authority will be created instead. A long-time land tenancy should turn into private land ownership.[6]

According to the official press-release, "The reforms are designed to reduce bureaucratic impediments for homeowners who wish to enlarge their homes and the involvement of the Government in the real estate market, and enable the ILA to focus on developing and marketing state lands, as opposed to dealing with leased residential units."[9] The reforms are meant to offer a greater supply of residential units that would cause housing prices to decline.

Upon the agreement reached after negotiations were held between ILA management, Ministry of Finance and Trade unions, some 200 of ILA staff will leave their job voluntarily, as for the rest they will be embedded in the structure of a new Israel Land Authority organization.

Kahlon's appointment

On January 21, 2013 prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appointed former Communications and Welfare Minister Moshe Kahlon as a new ILA chairman.[10] Kahlon's candidacy was chosen since he enjoyed public support since he managed to reduce dramatically cellphone bills by setting major reforms at the communications market.[11] It is expected that his appointment will contribute to lowering the cost of housing for Israelis as he is a person capable to do it.[10]

This Netanyahu's decision has been highly criticized by other politicians since it was taken only two days before the elections.[12] The head of the Central Election Committee, Supreme Court Justice Elyakim Rubinstein, barred Israeli media to broadcast the press conference at which the appointment was announced, ruling that it could be regarded as election propaganda, which is banned.[13] The Israeli Labor Party leader Shelly Yachimovich said that Kahlon's appointment was illegal since according to law, the ILA chairman is appointed not by PM but rather by the Housing and Construction Minister.[14] She filed a petition to the High Court of Justice.[15]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Pfeffer, Anshel; Stern, Yoav (2007-09-24). "High Court delays ruling on JNF land sales to non-Jews". Haaretz. Retrieved 2007-12-20.
  2. ↑ Ilan Ben Zion, Lands chief position reportedly forced on Likud minister
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Israel Land Administration. General Information
  4. ↑ Israel Land Administration Law
  5. ↑ Legal Aspects of Property Ownership in Israel
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Israel Lands: Privatization or National Ownership?
  7. ↑ Hasson, Nir (2009-07-21). "Most Arabs can't buy most homes in West Jerusalem". Haaretz.
  8. ↑ Israel and the Occupied Territories. International Religious Freedom Report 2005. United States Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (2006)
  9. ↑ Israel Land Administration Reforms Underway, Prime Minister's Office, October 6, 2010
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Zvi Zrahia, Nimrod Bousso, Netanyahu taps popular Likud ex-minister to head Israel Land Administration, Haaretz, January 21, 2013
  11. ↑ Ron Friedman, Kahlon to the rescue?, The Times of Israel, January 21, 2013
  12. ↑ Boaz Fyler, Shiri Hadar, Parties slam PM over Kahlon appointment, Ynet, January 21, 2013
  13. ↑ Elie Leshem, Netanyahu decried for ‘populist’ move to promote Kahlon, The Times of Israel, January 21, 2013
  14. ↑ Lahav Harkov, Melanie Lidman, Yonah Jeremy B, PM to appoint Kahlon chairman of Lands Authority, The Jerusalem Post, January 20, 2013
  15. ↑ Labor to petition appointment of Kahlon, The Jerusalem Post, January 20, 2013

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