The involvement of some Knesset members in financial enterprises that pose a conflict of interest, particularly land transactions on the West Bank, was sharply attacked at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting. Deputy Premier and Minister of Housing David Levy called for regulations to restrict the business activities of MKs, just as Ministers are barred from business deals that might impinge on their ministerial duties.
The issue arose in the Cabinet after media reports that MKs of both Likud and the Labor Alignment who happen to be lawyers, were providing their firms’ legal services to land entrepreneurs on the West Bank. The media questioned the validity of some of these land sales after it was discovered that only a few entrepreneurs carefully verified the ownership of private land bought from local Arabs before they put it on the market for Israeli buyers.
In addition, Voice of Israel Radio reported yesterday that about 20 sites on the West Bank advertised in Israel for the construction of private villas, were never approved by the Ministerial Settlement Committee. The law requires approval by the committee as a precondition for any settlement or private building on the land.
Even after approval, however, problems concerning the legal ownership of plots could still arise and approval does in no way guarantee when a settlement would be ready for housing, the radio report noted. Deputy Minister of Agriculture Michael Dekel said yesterday that it was untrue that persons who bought land on the West Bank could lose their money. But he urged customers to make sure their transaction has met all legal requirements before laying down their money.
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