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The Land Affair: Dozens of Demonstrators Against Businessman Gary Barnett in Jerusalem - Walla! Real Estate

2023-05-30T13:22:00.240Z

Highlights: Following yesterday's publication of Gary Barnett's alleged proposal to residents of the neighborhoods in question in Jerusalem, dozens of protesters continued their struggle and demonstrated today against the "intention to expel them from their homes" "In practice this is a cheap PR stunt of the lowest kind and cynical exploitation of the residents" "No resident has received an offer and no one knows what its terms are" "The government cannot allow every land baron to do as he pleases" "We demand a uniform solution for all cities in Jerusalem and other cities in Israel"


Following yesterday's publication of Gary Barnett's alleged proposal to residents of the neighborhoods in question in Jerusalem, dozens of protesters continued their struggle and demonstrated today against the "intention to expel them from their homes."


Dozens of demonstrators in the Patriarchate Land Affair in Jerusalem (PR)

Another incident in the never-ending Patriarchate Land affair in Jerusalem: Following yesterday's publication in Walla Real Estate and other news websites about businessman Gary Barnett's alleged offer to residents of the neighborhoods in question in Jerusalem to pay hundreds of thousands of shekels for full ownership of their homes - dozens of residents of the neighborhoods of Nayot, Talbieh, Abu Tor, Givat Oranim and Rehavia, who claimed that they had not received any offer and that it was spin - continued their struggle and held a demonstration today (Tuesday) at the entrance to the Inbal Hotel, There the Jerusalem Real Estate City Conference of the Israeli Construction Center was held.

In their struggle, neighborhood residents are protesting the alleged intention to expel them from their homes in the coming years by contractors and capitalists, headed by businessman Gary Barnett, who purchased the land earlier this year from Nayot for NIS 750 million.

Recall that the lands in question belonged to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and are located in the center of Jerusalem, mainly in the Talbiya and Nayot neighborhoods. They are now leased to the JNF, which also leased the land to the owners of the apartments built in the area.

Neighborhood representatives: "The government cannot allow every land baron to do as he pleases"

According to the demonstrators, the residents of the neighborhoods "have become hostages in their homes, after the residents' land leases remain relatively short periods of tax for years, and the contractors who purchased the land threaten not to renew them if the residents do not pay huge sums."

The residents are seeking to approve a draft law, which has been submitted to the Knesset and anchors and protects residents from contractors' demands. This bill submitted to the Knesset is similar to bills already approved in various European countries, as well as similar to the recently updated Land Lease Law in Britain. The proposal was also completed in direct consultation with key managers at the UK Ministry of Justice.

Representatives of the protesting tenants note that despite the spin, as mentioned, coming from businessman Gary Barnett and his people talking about a compromise and a concrete proposal offered to the residents of the neighborhoods, "in practice this is a cheap PR stunt of the lowest kind and cynical exploitation of the residents." "Mr. Barnett has learned about the current demonstration and is trying to neutralize it. No resident has received an offer and no one knows what its terms are. Barnett and his men are holding thousands of residents in uncertainty and threatening under their mustaches that if they do not comply with his demands, they will be swallowed up. This is exactly where the Competition Authority should intervene, and we call on the Competition Authority and Economy Minister Nir Barkat to intervene against the land barons who think that everything is allowed to them."

According to the protesters: What does Barnett want to achieve?

According to the protesters, Gary Barnett is trying to achieve two things: first, that the residents, who allegedly paid full money for their apartments, will pay hundreds of thousands more shekels if not millions; Second, to receive the residents' unused NOP and building rights free of charge, even though according to the law these rights belong to the lessees.

"Barnett is a businessman, not a contractor, so he will sell the rights to the highest bidder, and whoever buys will act as he sees fit without caring about the residents. Anyone familiar with the field of evacuation-reconstruction knows how important it is to choose a reliable contractor, to receive sales guarantees and collateral, to take tenants and more, and knows what a large percentage of such projects have gone wrong and how many tenants in those buildings have suffered and are suffering. Here the entire defense network probably won't exist."

In conclusion, the residents call on the government to assist them in this case, by virtue of its role: "The government cannot allow every land baron to do as he pleases, without protecting the residents. We need a fair legislative solution as exists abroad and as proposed in the Fair Lease Law. We demand a uniform solution for all neighborhoods in Jerusalem and other cities outside it."

  • Real Estate

Tags

  • Real Estate
  • Jerusalem

Source: walla

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