Planning council okays fast-tracking Nir Oz reconstruction

The National Planning and Building Council gives the green light to fast-tracking the construction of 205 new housing units and other public buildings and infrastructure in Kibbutz Nir Oz, near the Gaza border, recommending that the interior minister exempt the kibbutz from the usual planning process and need for permits.

A temporary order under the Planning and Building Law allows the interior minister to exempt residential and public buildings from rigorous planning and permitting procedures usually required.

The council has approved dozens of such orders for different communities affected by the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, but Nir Oz was the last community to agree on a funding package with the state, finally doing so in April.

Nir Oz was largely destroyed on October 7, 2023, when Hamas gunmen entered all but six of over 200 homes in the small community and either murdered or kidnapped one of every four residents — 117 people out of some 400. Of those abducted, nine are still being held in Gaza, of whom only five are believed to still be alive.

The kibbutz will carry out the construction work.