Construction violations in Bnei Brak: Enough evidence for indictments against senior officials in the municipality

October 21, 2024   

The Land Enforcement Authority began an investigation about a year ago into what was happening in the Bnei Brak municipality, following suspicions of serious construction violations in the city and the taking over of public areas. According to a report by Ranit Nahum-Halevi in ​​The Marker, the authority claims that they have accumulated enough evidence to recommend to the Attorney General's Office that indictments be filed against several of those involved. According to the report, among those being investigated in the warning are: former city engineer Israel Kashtan, the city engineer until recently Eran Wexler, deputy city engineer Ruth Moses, and the chairman of the Planning and Building Subcommittee, Menachem Shapira. The investigation and investigation in the warning focused on about 15 people being investigated, mainly members of the local Planning and Building Committee, as well as real estate developers, some of whom were questioned more than once. Former mayor Avraham Rubinstein was also summoned for questioning, but due to his health condition, he was not ultimately questioned. According to 'The Marker', at this stage, no political figures have yet been investigated, including Mayor Hanoch Seibert, who until the elections served as chairman of a subcommittee on the Planning and Building Committee and was responsible for the city's engineering department. Investigating a mayor or any other senior official requires approval from the legal advisor to the government, and such a request has not been submitted to date. The audit revealed that the municipality does not have a permanent engineer, permanent architect, or permanent director of the Supervision and Licensing Department, with the positions being filled by freelancers. "Workers with invoices," the authority said, "without mechanisms, while the work processes in the local Planning and Building Committee are flawed." According to 'The Marker', the Land Enforcement Authority found evidence of illegal conduct by several members of the local Planning Committee and its subcommittee, and intends to deepen the investigation to understand whether there are additional officials involved, including at the political level. In addition, there are other senior professional figures that the authority is required to investigate. to investigate, some with a warning. Such an investigation also requires approval from the legal counsel to the government, and there is a high chance that this will be requested. Sources in the Land Enforcement Authority said in a statement: "These are criminal offenses with awareness, and not administrative offenses for which the sanctions are limited to imposing fines, and hence we intend to recommend to the Attorney General's Office to file an indictment against some of those being investigated. These are mainly senior professionals for whom an investigation permit was not required." The Land Enforcement Authority's investigation in Bnei Brak was opened in August 2023, following requests from city residents and in light of the disaster on Mount Meron. At that time, it was decided to launch an investigation to examine the phenomenon of construction violations in the city and to locate dangerous structures that were erected illegally, with the aim of identifying in advance those that could lead to a disaster. At the same time, the authority launched an in-depth review of the conduct of the local committee under the Planning and Building Law. The Marker notes that construction violations are so routine in Bnei Brak that apartment sales notices do not only list the existing area of ​​the apartment, but also add the "potential" area - that which can be expanded without any inspection, approval or building permit. Following the Land Enforcement Authority's determined activity, in the days before Rosh Hashanah, an emergency conference was held in the city for the first time, initiated by dozens of community rabbis, Dayanim, Mayor Seibert and his deputy Menachem Shapira. At the extraordinary conference, the likes of which have never been held, the burning issue of illegal construction that is widespread in the city and the dangers inherent in it was raised. Bnei Brak City Council member, Yaakov Wider: "The Land Enforcement Authority has begun to sit tight on Bnei Brak. Seibert, Shapira and their friends, the businessmen of the city leadership, have begun to hold conferences and publish this in all the establishment press, such as 'Hamodia' and 'Yated Ne'eman', and they are beginning to speak out against illegal construction. This has never happened in the city, which shows that the authority's activities are doing their part and they are beginning to fear the investigation." The Bnei Brak Municipality responded to 'The Marker' by saying: "The municipality, its elected officials and employees cooperate with any inspection or investigation procedure whatsoever. We are convinced that when the procedures are exhausted, it will become clear that there was no flaw in the municipality's actions. We will update you that since the establishment of the current city council and the mayor's entry into office, enforcement and demolition activities against illegal construction have been greatly intensified, a phenomenon that is a scourge of the state, and not just the province of Bnei Brak.".