Israel Lands Administration

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

Israel Land Administration was created in 1960 as a result of the Knesset legislature to oversee the distribution and protection of all 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. The remaining 7% of land is either privately owned or under the protection of religious authorities.

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

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.

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. 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.

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.

...
Wikipedia