After decades of waiting, landowners in Ramat Gural are demanding that the municipality begin development work and are threatening legal action if clear timetables are not set.
After a long period of discussions on the plan HF/2169A, the National Council's Appeals Subcommittee rejected most of the appeals filed against the plan's approval, thus paving the way for the realization of one of Haifa's largest construction complexes. However, despite the plan's approval and the decision on the appeals, development work on the site has not yet begun and the landowners are losing patience.
Between concrete and trees: The battle between landowners and environmental activists in Ramat Gural
The new struggle: The plan was approved — but the ground is still standing
In Ramat Gural, approval of the plan is not the end of the road but the beginning of another struggle. Without development work, roads, infrastructure and transportation systems, construction of the new neighborhood, which includes approximately 2,040 housing units, cannot begin. For years, appeals delayed the advancement of the plan, but in July 2026, the appeals committee rejected most of the claims, and even increased the scope of construction that could be realized in the first phase from 30% to 50%.
For the landowners, this is a turning point: the planning obstacle has been removed, and they expect to see the municipality move from the waiting phase to the implementation phase.
"The appeals have been decided — now we need to develop"
Attorney Menachem Levinson, who represents a large portion of the landowners, says that after the appeals committee's decision, a broad organization of plot owners began with the aim of motivating the municipality to begin development work. According to him, the landowners are not ready for another round of waiting: "People have been waiting for decades for a stage where there will no longer be a planning process that delays implementation. The plan has been approved, now we need to move from talk to execution.."
The landowners are demanding that the municipality present schedules, a budget, and a work plan. If not, they are preparing to file a large-scale lawsuit.
The road that was approved in 2007 — and still hasn’t been paved
One of the main conditions for the development of the neighborhood is an additional transportation connection, which was approved in 2007. This is an axis connecting Ramat Begin, Bnai Brith Street and Menachem Savidor Street, a route required to allow entry and exit from the new neighborhood.
Without this road, even an approved plan cannot be realized. The appeals committee emphasized that although it increased the scope of construction in the first phase, the need for an additional transportation connection remains.
"It's too early to talk about schedules"
The municipality claims that the plan was approved during a previous administration, and that the National Council's decision must be studied before taking a position. The municipality said that at this stage it is too early to comment on timetables or development costs.
But the landowners are not willing to accept this answer. From their perspective, after a decade of discussions, there is no justification for further delay.
The ground is boiling: Legal battles also in Golda and Lincoln Slopes
Ramat Gural is not the only area where landowners are forced to go to court. A lengthy legal battle was waged in Golda Slope, which ultimately determined that the municipality had breached its obligations. A lawsuit for NIS 58.5 million was also recently filed in Lincoln Slope against the municipality and the local committee.
The landowners in Ramat Gural warn: If the municipality does not fulfill its obligations, this complex will also become an expensive arena for litigation, this time involving hundreds of millions of shekels.
The next battle: not about the plan — but about the clock
Although the plan has been approved, the municipality collects improvement levies from landowners when selling their plots, but does not allow them to actually exercise their building rights. The landowners are demanding that the municipality begin development work to turn Ramat Gural into a real residential neighborhood.
"We expect to see the municipality enter the event: budget, implementation elements, milestones and schedules. If we see another endless postponement, we will take legal action", says Attorney Levinson.
An approved plan can become a "dead letter" — if you don't start working
Ramat Gural is at a critical juncture: on the one hand, the plan has been approved and the appeals have been decided. On the other hand, without infrastructure and budgeting, the neighborhood could remain stuck for many years to come.
The landowners are organized, determined, and ready to take legal action. Now the ball is in the Haifa Municipality's court and the simple question that hangs over everything is: When do you start working?
It is a pity that the landowners did not follow the procedure after approval and did not understand that the court ruled that the district committee must revisit and re-discuss the plan regarding the compensation of the owners of the plots through which the electricity line passes.
Attached is a card that devours all the cards in the payout tables in the approved plan.
The meaning of changing the table of changes is not just a casual discussion but an opening of the table of rights and also requires a change in height and levels to allow for additional rights.
In light of the objections that have existed in the past from landowners, some of whom have gone to the courts and also to the National Council, it is likely that there will be objections here as well.
In short, the plan is irrelevant until the procedure is completed.
And it's a shame that once again something is leading you to the courts instead of focusing primarily on putting pressure on the district committee to conclude the discussions, decide, and update the plan.
First, the crucial assessors who discussed the improvement levy for the plan decided that it was indeed relevant and should be implemented immediately. According to the schedules they took into account, we should have already seen actual construction.
Secondly, the District Court did indeed receive, twice, petitions against the values in the balance sheet. The District Committee to which the matter was returned decided that it would discuss the matter only after receiving the decision of the National Council.
Third, appeals against the decisions of the final assessors, received in the District Court, were returned to the Appeals Committee, which has not yet ruled on them. Two new chairmen were recently appointed and it is possible that they will expedite the matter.
Fourth and most importantly, the National Council rejected an appeal by the owners of the private lands surrounding the neighborhood, on whose territory the municipality was considering transferring public infrastructure for the neighborhood. The Council determined that these lands are not necessary for the neighborhood, and therefore they should not be included in the blue line of the plan, but rather a separate urban plan should be prepared for them and they should be expropriated. Such a plan would take years, if it could be approved at all, in light of the determination that the lands are not needed for the neighborhood…
The fifth solution for the landowners is to receive an extension from the Minister of the Interior to file a claim under Section 197 of the law, for the decrease in the value of their plot, in the plan that has stuck them. Since the planning procedures have not actually been completed, the Minister of the Interior cannot refuse, and if he does so, he must be forced to do so through the High Court of Justice.