A construction company in the hareidi-religious city of Modiin Illit (Kiryat Sefer) demands 18 million shekels $4.8 million)from the government to pay for construction freeze-caused damages – and that’s just for starters. Based on the government’s response, owner Pinchas Zaltsman says he will decide whether to immediately demand a further 257 million shekels in damages, or to wait until the full extent of the damages becomes known. A complex set of regulations stands behind this decision, Zaltsman told Israel National News . The company, Neot HaPisgah Modi'in Ilit, was in the midst of building several hundred housing units in Modiin Illit when the 10-month freeze was abruptly announced this past November. In a letter to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, and IDF Central District Commander Gen. Mizrachi, the company states that the freeze has prevented it from fulfilling its obligations to apartment purchasers, causing “inestimable damage” to its public image and financial losses. This is the first demand by a construction company for freeze-related damages, although additional companies are expected to follow suit. Neot HaPisgah has hired a high-profile lawyer, Ehud Arad, and its legal proceedings to recoup its freeze-caused damages from the government are expected to make waves in the coming weeks and months. Government Held Responsible for Political Decisions The company states that "there is a price for political decisions and this must be recognized… The responsibility rests solely on the shoulders of the Prime Minister and the government, who, with an unplanned decision and shortsightedness, brought the company to its current state.” Where's the Logic? In addition to the 18-million demand and the 257-million suit, Zaltsman explained that his company has also sued the government on a third front: “We demand to know what logic there is in arbitrarily determining the ‘building of foundations’ as the cut-off point for allowing construction to continue. There might be someone who did nothing but put down foundations, and he is permitted to continue building – while we, who have spent millions on moving earth, building support walls, and constructing various infrastructures for approximately 1,000 housing units, cannot proceed? Where is the logic? It should be that once the construction has passed a point of no return, it should be permitted to continue.” Neot HaPisgah has already completed some 600 apartments in Modiin Illit, east of Ben Gurion International Airport and just north of Modiin, and has the rights to build another 2,100. It also has plans to build in Beitar in Gush Etzion, Shilat, and elsewhere.
