Calcalist, Dror Marmor  02.11.20

The Israel Land Authority has decided to significantly reduce the rights of kibbutzim in land designated for future residential construction.

Calcalist has learned that the professional team that in recent years has examined the rights of kibbutzim associations in land, headed by the outgoing CEO of Rami Adiel Shimron , now recommends drastically reducing the future residential rights that the associations can purchase from the state. The Israel Lands Council, the body responsible for the country's land policy, today (Monday) received the final report from the team members, appointed by the Minister of Finance and former Chairman of the Israel Lands Council, Moshe Kahlon, in November 2017.

According to the recommendations in the report, the kibbutz association will be able to purchase land in the beneficiary route of the "association alternative" at a maximum of only 10% -15% beyond the quota of members. In the past, Resolution 979 stipulated that the kibbutzim could purchase the residential plots (for 33% of the value of the land) according to a formula that doubled the number of existing members by 2.3.

Until now, kibbutzim can buy at a discount the entire area of ​​the kibbutz intended for residence. Now let them buy as the number of members plus 10% -15%.

According to the authors of the report, "According to the data in the team's possession, the additional quota of plots reflects an average increase in the kibbutz population for about a decade, so it gives it a long growth horizon that provides it with certainty and responsible dosing, leaving the state in control This".

According to the team, the association alternative that has been practiced so far has been disproportionate and has given unreasonable discounts (in various reductions on bulk purchase, capitalization rate, appraisals of those unplanned lands and more) that are inconsistent with the principle of distributive justice.

"Too much land and power will delay their growth"

Currently, there are more than 200 kibbutzim and cooperative moshavim in Israel, of which about 60 have submitted applications to purchase land in the "Association Alternative" route. Senior officials in the Israel Land Council stressed yesterday that it is estimated that all kibbutzim and cooperative moshavim (included in the decision) will become community settlements in the coming decades, "so giving kibbutz associations too much land and power will only delay their growth." .

However, according to the recommendations in the report, upon completion of an occupancy of 75% of the additional unit quota, the kibbutz may submit to the Authority an application for the purchase of an additional portion of plots, the scope of which will be the same as the number of additional plots already purchased by it.

"Listed to Correct Substantial Distortions"

In August 2014, the Israel Lands Council decided to approve the "alternative of the association" outline, which stipulated that the cooperative associations in the kibbutzim could purchase all the residential rights in the kibbutz from Rami at discounts that could reach hundreds of millions of shekels for kibbutzim living in the center of the country. The kibbutz movement estimates that in the coming years, construction will be carried out on 65,000 plots out of 120,000 plots in kibbutzim throughout the country.

In practice, partly because of the fears in Rami that the land they will purchase will wait decades for realization, the power passes to the associations (who become landowners and the new members paid only for the construction and their legal rights were unclear) and the difficulty of reaching agreements with the kibbutzim regarding the overuse. Transactions), it was decided as stated in 2017 to establish a team that will examine new alternatives.

The kibbutzim tried in every way to thwart the work of the team, including by contacting the Attorney General and the courts and ignoring the team work until 2019. In early 2019, Kahlon explicitly assured them that the team work was frozen "until further notice", but in the past year. More than Rami moving to the Ministry of Housing, which is in ultra-Orthodox hands (which are not close to the kibbutzim), Rami decided to speed up the work of the team that has now submitted its conclusions. In any case, according to estimates, until their approval by the Israel Lands Council, the kibbutzim are expected to try to change the evil of the decree.

The team members emphasize in the report that "the team recognizes the kibbutz's desire to hold the right to acquire rights in land reserves for its growth and claims that it gives it certainty and stability and contributes to the healthy growth and development of the company in it." However, they note, "Giving too much power to the kibbutz in the contexts mentioned or granting rights in too large land divisions under its control may lead to harm to certain populations outside and within the kibbutz, and inequality in the allocation of public land for private use. Its inhabitants. "

Bottom line, they state, "the team believes that the recommendations outlined above correct material distortions that were discovered at the beginning of the implementation of the decision made in 2014 by the Authority, but their scope and depth became clearer as part of the team's work."