In recent weeks, there has been an outcry in um al-Fahm that refuses to calm down – to some extent rightly so. After all, the city, which has a low socioeconomic status – 2 out of 10 – was one of the pioneers of Arab cities and villages when it signed an umbrella agreement for the construction of some 10,000 housing units, and expectations were high. At the time, July 2021, it was a historic step in the State of Israel, although Arab society accepted the umbrella agreement with great suspicion, and for good reason.
In the past two months, nothing has happened in Arab society, when the Israel Land Authority issued tenders for the construction of detached homes and high-density construction at prices beyond imagination. For example, a dunam of land for the construction of five housing units was marketed at NIS 2 million in development costs. There is a full discount on the price of the land (because of a ruling that stands in favor of the residents), but the development costs in communities like um al-Fahm, which suffer from a complete lack of infrastructure, are significant and raise the price.
For the Jewish public, this may be a trivial matter, since such prices we may have known a decade ago, and they too are only in peripheral areas. But for the Arab population, which is also suffering from a housing crisis, this is a sharp price increase estimated at 300% more than similar tenders issued in 2016.
For the sake of comparison, seven years ago, plots for the construction of three housing units were marketed in um al-Fahm for NIS 433,484 and plots for the construction of five units were marketed for NIS 100,98 – a total payment of about NIS 24,1 per unit. Currently, in a tender issued in the Kahaish neighborhood for the construction of 33 housing units on 1 lots, two units on the lot are marketed for NIS 53.350 million, while five units on the lot are marketed at NIS 400.<> million – between NIS <>,<>-<>,<> per unit.
Air tenders
"We were surprised by the announcement of the tender issued by the Israel Land Authority," Adham Suleiman Jabarin, secretary of the Balad branch in um al-Fahm, told a local newspaper. The prices are imaginary, no one can pay such a sum, so we call to cancel the tender, stop the project and examine the possibility of reducing prices."
"There is an increase in development costs because of the roof agreement," enrages attorney Tawfiq Jabarin, a member of the city council, "These tenders are a crime against the city. When the tender came out, I was surprised to see the prices, these are price levels that the residents of um al-Fahm can't meet. This means that plots for construction on the private market will be sold at double the price, and a house will be built for about NIS 5 million. It's not Tel Aviv here."
It turns out that in recent months, the ILA has failed miserably in Arab society, with additional tenders issued in other Arab localities canceled or closed without results. Thus, a tender issued in Tira for the construction of 432 apartments at a target price was closed. The tender included five complexes for the construction of 72-108 apartments each, at zero land cost and at a price of NIS 22-31 million in development, depending on the size of the lot.
In addition, two tenders are pending in um al-Fahm for the construction of 1,500 housing units and 1,700 housing units at target prices. Both tenders will be launched in November 2022, will close in June 2023, and both have not yet published a tender booklet.
When Baana became Savion
Recently, the local council made headlines in the Arab press after the Israel Land Authority issued a tender for the construction of 206 self-built units on 56 lots.
Ba'ana is a local council located between the Upper and Lower Galilees, with about 9,000 residents of socioeconomic status 2, and its residents earn about NIS 5,000 a month on average. Therefore, the council was also very puzzled when they saw the ILA tender that required them to pay hundreds of thousands of shekels for the construction of two detached homes on the lot. It is estimated that the Ba'ana tender is also expected to be canceled, even though it has already been closed and the winners have been announced, due to the population's difficulty in meeting the payment conditions.
"People are unable to raise payments for development costs," says attorney Dr. Kais Nasser, partner at M. Firon Law Office, "It is estimated that the Ministry of Construction and Housing will cancel the tender, because in the current situation, it is not profitable for it to come and develop infrastructure in the entire neighborhood when only half of the tender is closed. The prices of the plots offered in ILA tenders are very expensive for the Arab population. If the cost of construction is added to the development costs, it follows that the construction of a residential building according to the tenders will reach more than NIS 4 million. As a result, construction will become the wealthiest in Arab society. It's not Savyon here.
The Ministry of Construction and Housing said, "The Ministry and the ILA are thoroughly examining all the unsuccessful tenders, in order to update them and put them on the market again in order to close successfully. We emphasize that within the framework of the ministry's and ILA's policy, options for allocating budgets for accelerating real estate are currently being examined, in order to promote projects and marketing in places where there are marketing and construction barriers."
Tawfiq Jabarin, um al-Fahm council member: "These tenders are a crime against the city. When the tender came out, I was surprised to see the prices, these are price levels that the residents of um al-Fahm can't meet. This means that plots for construction on the private market will be sold at double the price."
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