The Herzliya Municipality has bought 20 dunam (five-acre) of beachfront land from the Keren Hayesod and the American Zion Commonwealth for NIS 12.5 million. The sale follows mediation in which, for the first time, a coastal strip is being transferred to public ownership. The land, adjacent to the Sharon Hotel, was bought by the American Zion Commonwealth in the 1930s, and is one of the few beachfront properties held by private parties.
The American Zion Commonwealth went into liquidation in the late 1980s, a process which was completed during the 1990s, and the Keren Hayesod obtained power of attorney of the company's affairs. In 1997, the Herzliya Municipality expropriated the land, and the Keren Hayesod and the American Zion Commonwealth petitioned the court for NIS 200 million in compensation. The Herzliya Local Planning and Building Commission cancelled the expropriation because of the high risk of a public payment.
The American Zion Commonwealth then petitioned the Tel Aviv District Court against the cancellation of the expropriation, and, in July 2012, the court ruled in its favor, exposing the Herzliya Municipality to a multimillion shekel liability. The municipality appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court, which recommended mediation. That procedure was concluded yesterday.
The American Zion Commonwealth was a Zionist settlement corporation, founded in 1914, which purchased land, mostly in the 1920s, in the Jezreel Valley and other locations during the British Mandate era. Its lands were the kernels for the towns of Herzliya, Afula, Kiryat Ata, Ramat Ishai and Moshav Balfouria.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 26, 2013
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