No governance, no revenue: How East Jerusalem became a "dark area"

A study by the Regavim movement reveals that only 4% of 55,000 dunams in East Jerusalem have been regulated by 2025, far short of the full target. The consequences include planning chaos, an estimated 300 million shekels in annual property tax evasion, 25,000 illegally built structures, and involvement of criminal and hostile entities in construction financing.

A new study by the Regavim movement, published here for the first time, reveals that seven years after the land regulation process in East Jerusalem was initiated, only 4% of the area has been regulated—2,286 dunams out of approximately 55,000. Government Decision 3970 from 2018, initiated by then-Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, defined regulation as a national goal that was supposed to be completed by 2025. In practice, most of the regulated area is concentrated in Jewish neighborhoods (about 1,400 dunams), while in Arab neighborhoods only about 880 dunams have been regulated, of which 92 dunams are built-up. The consequences are severe: systematic tax evasion estimated at about 300 million shekels per year in property taxes alone, illegal construction totaling about 25,000 structures, and a lack of public infrastructure. The study points to involvement of criminal elements from Judea and Samaria and entities affiliated with the Palestinian Authority or Islamic organizations in providing construction loans, which could deepen their penetration into the eastern part of the city and harm Israeli sovereignty. Menashe Shmueli of Regavim said: "Chaos of buildings, roads, and safety hazards, and zero governance—not 'somewhere out there,' but in Israel's capital."

No governance, no revenue: How East Jerusalem became a "dark area"