(No. 42)
	AGRICULTURAL SETTLEMENT (RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF AGRICULTURAL LAND AND OF WATER) LAW, 5727-1967*
Definitions.	1. In this Law -- "agricultural land" means land intended to be used for the production of agricultural produce, for the growing of flowers, for a plant nursery, for the raising, keeping or pasture of live stock or for the keeping of agricultural equipment or agricultural stock-in-trade; "non-conforming use", in relation to agricultural land, means use defined as non-conforming in the First Schedule.
Prohibition of non-conforming use.	2. A person occupying or entitled to occupy agricultural land, being Israel lands within the meaning of the Basic Law: Israel Lands(1), under a lease agreement or by authority (such a person hereinafter referred to as "the occupier"), shall not make non-conforming use of that land save under a written permit from the Minister of Agriculture or from a person empowered in that behalf by the Minister by notice in Reshumot. If a person empowered by the Minister of Agriculture as aforesaid has refused to permit non-conforming use, the occupier may apply for reconsideration of the matter by the Minister himself.
Prohibition of transfer of water quota.	3. An occupier for whom a water quota has been fixed by the Water Commissioner or by any other authority empowered in that behalf under law or to whom a quantity of water has been allocated out of a quota fixed as aforesaid for a body of persons of which he is a member (both such first-mentioned quota and such quantity hereinafter referred to as a "personal quota") shall not transfer his personal quota to another person, or use it or permit another person to use it, for the purposes of land of which non-conforming use is made, save under a written permit from the Minister of Agriculture or from a person empowered in that behalf by the Minister by notice in Reshumot.
Determining committee.	4. The Minister of Justice shall establish a determining committee, or determining committees, for the purposes of this Law. A determining committee (hereinafter referred to as a "committee") shall consist of a Judge of a Magistrates' Court appointed by the Minister of Justice and who shall act as chairman and of two experts appointed by the Minister of Agriculture, neither of whom shall be an employee of the Israel Lands Administration and at least one of whom shall not be a State employee. Notice of the composition of the committee shall be published in Reshumot .
Procedure.	5. (a) The experts shall take part in all the deliberations of the committee and shall advise the Judge on all problems connected with proceedings brought before it under this Law, but the opinion of the Judge shall prevail in arriving at a decision. (b) If one of the experts does not attend a meeting of the committee, the Judge may hold deliberations with the other expert alone. If neither expert attends, the Judge may deliberate by himself. (c) The Minister of Justice may prescribe by regulations the rules of procedure of the committee; in so far as he shall not have done so, the Civil Procedure Regulations, 5721-1963(2), shall apply.
Proceedings for termination of right to parcel.	6. (a) Where a person contravenes any of the provisions of section 2 or 3 in respect of agricultural land occupied by him or in respect of the personal quota allocated therefor, and, notwithstanding written warning from the Minister of Agriculture or a person empowered by him in that behalf by notice in Reshumot, he does not discontinue the contravention within one month from the date of receipt of the warning, the Minister of Agriculture or a person empowered by him in that behalf by notice in Reshumot may claim before the committee the termination of his right in respect of that agricultural land and of his right to the personal quota allocated for that land. (b) Where the occupier, after receiving the warning, applies for a permit for the non-conforming use and meets with a final refusal under section 2, the claim shall not be filed before the expiration of one month from the day on which the occupier received the warning or one week from the day on which he received notice of the refusal, whichever is the later date. (c) Where the occupier discontinues the contravention after receipt of the warning, and within three years he again contravenes any of the provisions of section 2 or 3, the claim may be filed after a week's warning.
Termination of rights.	7. Where a contravention as aforesaid has been proved in a proceeding under section 6, the committee shall terminate the rights referred to in section 6: Provided that if the occupier's dwelling-house is on the agricultural land affected, the order of termination shall not apply to such house; however, the committee may, on the application of the person who has received the land under section 10 or on the application of the occupier, apply the order of termination to the house if it has been proved that alternative accommodation, within the meaning of the Tenants' Protection Law, 5715-1955(3), has been ensured to the occupier.
Composition in lieu of termination of rights.	8. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 7, if it appears to the committee that the case is the first in which the occupier has been found guilty of a contravention of the provisions of section 2 or 3 in respect of any parcel of agricultural land, it may, on the application of the occupier, replace the termination of rights with a composition payable to the Treasury and which shall be not less than 3,000 pounds and not more than twice the value of the crop obtained in the preceding year from the land in respect of which the contravention was committed.
Termination of rights in case of further contravention.	9. Where a person's rights have been terminated under section 7, and he again contravenes the provisions of section 2 or 3, the committee shall, on the claim of the Minister of Agriculture, terminate his right in respect of any agricultural land, being Israel lands, in his possession and his right to any personal quota: Provided that if the occupier's dwelling house is on land as aforesaid, the order of termination shall not apply to such house; however, the committee may apply the order of termination to the house on application and subject to conditions as specified in section 7.
Return of land.	10. Land or a right of which the occupier is deprived under section 7 or 9 shall be returned to the person who granted it to the occupier or, if such person does not accept it, to the Director of the Israel Lands Administration. Where such land or right is surrendered to the person who granted it to the occupier, such person shall not grant it to another person save with the consent of the Israel Lands Administration.
Burden of proof.	11. Where it is proved to the committee that any person other than the occupier or his hired workers has carried out, in respect of the agricultural land, any operations connected with its reclamation, cultivation, sowing or planting, the treatment of plants in connection with its cultivation, the gathering-in of its crop or the use of water for its cultivation, or has otherwise dealt with it in the manner of an owner, the occupier shall have to prove that he has not put the land to non-conforming use.
Person entering into contract with occupier.	12. (a) A person who enters into a contractual relationship with the occupier for any of the operations constituting non-conforming use or who receives the occupier's personal quota from him (such a person here- inafter referred to as "the contractant") shall, with regard to the occupier, be entitled to any consideration or compensation which would be due to him but for the provisions of this Law, and the committee shall, do his application, decide upon any such consideration or compensation in the proceedings against the occupier. (b) In any claim under this Law, the contractant shall be invited to join the proceedings before the committee, and any decision terminating rights under section 7 or 9 shall be effective also with regard to him. (c) Any amount due to the contractant by virtue of subsection (a) shall be a charge on the compensation due to the occupier under section 15, and the committee may prescribe arrangements to ensure the payment thereof.
Enforcement.	13. Any decision of the committee under section 7, 8, 9 or 12 shall, as to anything relating to its enforcement, have the effect of a judgment of a Magistrates' Court in a civil action.
Appeal.	14. A final decision of the committee upon a claim under section 7, 8, 9 or 12 shall, for the purposes of appeal, have the effect of a judgment of a Magistrates' Court in a civil action: Provided that an appeal to a District Court shall stay the enforcement of the decision.
Compensation.	15. (a) An occupier whose rights in the property have been terminated under this Law shall be entitled to compensation from the person to whom the land or rights has or have been returned under section 10 for the value he has added to the property by erecting structures, planting plantations or in any other manner. (b) The committee shall determine the amount of the compensation in accordance with the rules set out in the Second Schedule and shall also determine the times of payment, the security and the other terms of payment. Its determination shall, as to anything relating to enforcement or appeal, have the effect specified in sections 13 and 14. (c) The committee shall give its decision as to compensation under subsection (b) as part of the decision as to the termination of rights. (d) The rights of the occupier shall not be terminated unless compensation has been paid or security arranged for in accordance with the decision of the committee under subsection (b).
Amendment of Schedules.	16. The Minister of Agriculture may, by regulations and with the approval of the Economic Committee of the Knesset, amend, add to, and take away from the First and Second Schedules.
Overriding effect of Law.	17. The provisions of this Law shall apply notwithstanding the provisions of any other law.
Restriction on applicability.	18. The provisions of this Law shall not apply to non-conforming use permitted by a written agreement between the occupier and the Israel Lands Administration.
Status of Zionist Organization.	19. The prohibitions and restrictions imposed by this Law shall not apply to the World Zionist Organisation - Jewish Agency for Eretz Israel, but they shall apply to a person who holds agricultural land under it.
Implementation and regulations.	20. The Minister of Agriculture is charged with the implementation of this Law and may make regulations for such implementation.
	FIRST SCHEDULE (Section 1)
	The following acts in respect of agricultural land are non-conforming use:
	1. The transfer, vesting or charging of any right which the occupier has in the land or in any part thereof; but the cultivation of the land by hired workers or by a person who has undertaken cultivation on a contract basis and for the account of the occupier shall not be regarded as non-conforming use.
	2. The creation of a partnership in the land or the crop, unless it is a partnership of residents of the same settlement and the partners work in equal measure.
	3. The vesting of a tenant-right in the land or crop.
	4. The vesting of the right to acquire the crop in the field (daman), except the right to acquire the crop after ripening, even if vested prior to ripening, so long as the acquirer is not permitted to enter upon the land and handle the crop until after ripening.
	5. The charging of the crop, except under the provisions of the Short-Term Crop Loans (Security) Ordinance, 1935(4), or on conditions which preclude the creditor from handling the crop.
	SECOND SCHEDULE (Section 15b)
Date of termination.	1. In this Schedule, "the date of termination" means the date of the committee's termination decision or, where an appeal is filed against such decision, the date of the decision of the District Court confirming the termination .
Amount of compensation.	2. (a) The amount of compensation payable to the occupier shall be equal to the amount by which the value of the agricultural land he is required to vacate has increased up to the date of termination as a result of the erection of buildings, the establishment of permanent installations, the planting of plantations or the reclamation of the agricultural land (all these hereinafter collectively referred to as "improvements") by, or on behalf of, the occupier (such amount hereinafter referred to as "the added value"). (b) In calculating the added value, improvements made in contravention of the conditions on which the land is occupied by the occupier, or made otherwise than for the purpose of agricultural cultivation, shall not be taken into account.
Added value exceeding investment.	3. Where the added value exceeds the amount which would have been invested in the improvements had they been made immediately before the date of termination, less natural depreciation for the whole period (such amount hereinafter referred to as "the net investment"), the amount of compensation shall not exceed the net investment .
Added value less than investment.	4. Where the added value is less than the net investment, the committee shall determine the amount of compensation as it deems just in the circumstances of the case: Provided that the amount of compensation shall not exceed three quarters of the net investment.
Valuation.	5. The value of the right which the occupier had in the land, the added value and the net investment shall, for the purposes of this Schedule, be determined by a valuer appointed by the Minister of Agriculture after consultation with the Minister of Justice.
	LEVI ESHKOL Prime Minister HAIM GVATI Minister of Agriculture SHNEUR ZALMAN SHAZAR President of the State
	* Passed by the Knesset on the 24th Tammuz 5727 (1st August, 1967) and published in Sefer Ha-Chukkim No. 506 of the 4th Av, 5727 (10th August, 1967), p. 108; the Bill and an Explanatory Note were published in Hatza'ot Chok No. 700 of 5726, p. 152. (1) Sefer Ha-Chukkim of 5720, p. 56; LSI vol. XIV,, p. 48. (2) Kovetz Ha-Takkanot of 5723, p. 1869. (3) Sefer Ha-Chukkim of 5715, p.151; LSI vol. IX, p. 152. (4) P.G. of 1935, Suppl. 1, No. 522, p. 133 (English Edition).

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SOURCE: "Laws of the State of Israel: Authorized Translation from the Hebrew, Volume 21". Government Printer, Jerusalem, Israel (1948-1987), p. 105-110.

(C) Israel Law Resource Center, February, 2007.