There has been a breakthrough in the plan for rehabilitating buildings damaged by Iranian ballistic missiles. "Globes" has learned that, after weeks of stagnation and internal disputes, the inter-ministerial committee formed in June by order of the ministers of finance, the interior, and housing and construction, has managed to reach agreement that will allow fast-track reconstruction for areas badly damaged by Iranian attacks. The main innovation is that undamaged buildings will also be able to be included in renewal projects, in order to allow faster and more efficient planning. The compromise was reached after a prolonged standoff with the Ministry of Justice over the property rights of residents.
It will, however, take a long time for the required legislation to be passed, and even longer before there is any movement on the ground.
The entire area will be upgraded
The idea behind the work of the committee is clear. The sites of Iranian missile hits need to be rehabilitated quickly. Since the damage is enormous and the buildings in question are no longer fit for habitation, they need to be rebuilt. Instead of them being reconstructed as they were, the state, with the aid of the plan that the team is currently formulating, proposes a special track, which will allow urban renewal projects for the damaged buildings. They will be replaced with new, stronger buildings, at higher density, with a view of taking advantage of the situation to upgrade the entire area.
The main innovation formulated at the last meeting of the inter-ministerial team is the possibility of including in the urban renewal plan buildings that have not been damaged at all. The committee set up a classification of three types of damage: red buildings, that is, buildings that have been destroyed or are uninhabitable; orange and yellow buildings, that have sustained serious damage but can be rehabilitated, although this might take a long time; and green buildings, that have not been damaged at all.
Under the scheme being formulated, at the initiative of the Planning Administration headed by Rafi Elmaliach, about 80% of the buildings covered by the renewal plan will be red, orange or yellow buildings. Even though some of them could be repaired, they will be included in the renewal site and slated for demolition and new construction. The remaining 20% will include green buildings, but only if there is a professional opinion justifying their inclusion in the renewal site.
The idea is that an entire area that has been hit can be renewed at one go, including buildings that have not themselves been damaged, on the assumption that this will make the reconstruction process shorter, as the site will be more integrated and easier for planning and construction.
A majority in each individual building
The issue that has prevented progress in the inter-ministerial committee in the past few weeks relates to property rights: the majority required among residents of a multi-occupancy building for an urban renewal project to be carried out. The committee sought to promote a plan whereby a project could be carried with a bare 51% majority of residents on the site as a whole, even if in a particular building the proportion of those agreeing to the plan was lower than that. The representatives of the Ministry of Justice on the committee vehemently opposed that idea, and argued that there were legal impediments to the plan. Deputy Attorney General Carmit Yulis called the plan "a forced arrangement."
It would appear that agreement has been reached on this issue as well. The Ministry of Justice’s stance that a 51% majority will be required in each individual building has been accepted.
The team has already designated several sites for implementation of the new plan, which is mainly suited to high-density areas.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on August 5, 2025.
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