ILA freezes Nazareth land sale that conditions bidding on military service
Nazareth Mayor Ramez Jeraisy: “This is significant progress in the right direction”
Attorney Suhad Bishara: “The ILA has made the housing crisis a priority again”
The Israel Lands Administration (ILA) announced on 26 November 2012 that it was freezing the bidding process for building rights to five plots of land in Nazareth that condition eligibility for bidding on the land on a person having completed “service in the security forces”. The freeze is the result of an agreement reached between the ILA and parties represented by Adalah to suspend bidding pending a court decision on the legality of this condition.
On 12 November 2012, Adalah petitioned the Nazareth District Court to cancel the “service in the security forces” provision. Nazareth has a population of 80,000, a negligible proportion of which have served in the Israeli army. Therefore, the restricted bid discriminates against the overwhelming majority of the city’s residents. Adalah Attorney Suhad Bishara filed the petition on behalf of Nazareth’s Mayor, Ramez Jeraisy, and a Nazareth family who do not own a home and live on social security benefits due to the husband’s disability. The family does not meet the military service condition and therefore is barred from bidding for the land.
Attorney Bishara emphasized in the petition that, “the bid privileges certain people at a time when the city is suffering from a severe housing crisis and many families are without homes because of the ILA’s discriminatory land and home policies.”
She added that, “Making military service a basic requirement for access to housing is in conflict with the principle of equal access to public property, especially since the issue has no relation to military or security issues.”
Nazareth Mayor Engineer Ramez Jeraisy stated that, “The freeze indicates a very positive shift in the right direction with regards to the petition, and meets almost all of our demands before the court. I hope that the court decides to cancel the current process and issue a new tender that is open to all citizens of Nazareth.”
For questions, please contact Attorney Suhad Bishara: 049501610
Case citation: Administrative Petition 21030-11-12 Municipality of Nazareth vs. Israel Land Administration
Further Reading:
Press Release on 15 November 2012: “Adalah Petitions on Behalf of Nazareth Mayor against policy restricting land to former soldiers
