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Abatement of Nuisances Law, 5721-1961

חוק למניעת מפגעים, תשכ"א-1961

Published: 1961-03-23Consolidated Hebrew text as of 2026-07-19 · Last amended 2021-11-18✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-05
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Unofficial English translation — for reference only. It may contain errors or omissions and cannot be relied on as a legal text. Only the Hebrew text published in Reshumot is legally binding.More

This English text was translated from the official Hebrew using a range of translation tools, and it undergoes ongoing checks and updates. It is not a certified translation.

Despite these checks, it may contain errors, omissions, or imprecise renderings of legal terminology and cross-references, and it may not yet reflect the latest amendments. It cannot be relied upon as a legal text.

The Hebrew text as published in Reshumot (ספר החוקים) and on the Knesset website is the sole authoritative and legally binding version. In any discrepancy, the Hebrew text prevails.

This translation is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For use in legal proceedings, request a certified Expert Legal Opinion.

Definitions§

1.

In this Law –

"the Minister" – the Minister for Environmental Quality;

"this Law" – including the Regulations, by-laws and directions given thereunder.

Prevention of Noise§

2.

A person shall not cause strong or unreasonable noise, from any source whatsoever, if it disturbs, or is likely to disturb, a person in the vicinity or passers-by.

Prevention of Odour§

3.

A person shall not cause a strong or unreasonable odour, from any source whatsoever, if it disturbs, or is likely to disturb, a person in the vicinity or passers-by.

4.§

(Repealed — תשס״ח)

Implementation Rules§

5.

The Minister shall prescribe, by Regulations, rules for the implementation of sections 2 and 3, and may, inter alia, determine what constitutes strong or unreasonable noise or odour.

By-Laws§

6.

A local authority may, by by-law, with the approval of the Minister, prescribe special provisions in respect of this Law, having regard to the special conditions of the place and its inhabitants, and such provisions may deviate from the provisions of Regulations made under this Law, including by determining that the Regulations shall not apply in areas, on days or during hours defined in the by-law.

General Directions§

7.

The Minister may direct, by Regulations, the measures to be taken to prevent any contravention of sections 2 or 3; such Regulations may be general or by category.

Individual Directions§

8.
(a)The Minister, or a person appointed by the Minister for that purpose, may direct a particular person regarding the measures that person must take to prevent any contravention of sections 2 or 3.
(b)The making of Regulations under section 7, or a by-law under section 6, shall not derogate from the power to give directions under this section to a person to whom those Regulations or that by-law apply.

Licences for Industrial Plants§

9.

Any licence under the Business Licensing Law, 5728-1968, or any other licence required under any enactment for the operation of an industrial plant, shall be deemed to be subject to compliance with the provisions of this Law.

9a.§

(Repealed — תשע״א)

9b.§

(Repealed — תשע״א)

Evidence§

10.

In any legal proceeding under this Law –

(1)a nuisance determined to be strong or unreasonable in Regulations under section 5 is presumed to be likely to cause a disturbance to a person in the vicinity, so long as the contrary has not been proved;
(2)the fact that the accused or the defendant has fulfilled all that is required of that person by directions given under section 8 shall constitute a good defence.

Powers of Court§

10a.
(a)Where an indictment or a private complaint has been filed in respect of an offence under this Law, a court may grant a mandatory order, a prohibitory order and any other relief as it sees fit in the circumstances before it, including for the execution of an order for the removal of a nuisance under section 11b, all in order to prevent, cease or reduce strong or unreasonable noise or odour nuisances.
(b)The provisions of section 20w(b) to (h) of the Water Law, 5719-1959, shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to orders issued by the court under subsection (a).
(c)A court that has convicted a person of an offence under this section may, in the sentence, in addition to any other punishment it imposes, order that person to pay the expenses incurred in removing the nuisance, if the prosecutor or the person who incurred those expenses has submitted an application to the court.
(d)Where more than one person has been convicted of an offence, the court may, in a decision as aforesaid, impose payment of the expenses on all or some of them, jointly or severally, or apportion the payment among them, all as the court sees fit in the circumstances of the matter.

Penalties§

11.
(a)A person who contravenes any of the following is liable to six months' imprisonment or a fine as referred to in section 61(a)(4) of the Penal Law, 5737-1977 (hereinafter – the Penal Law), and if the offence was committed by a corporation, it is liable to double the said fine:
(1)sections 2 and 3 of this Law;
(2)directions of the Minister, or of a person appointed by the Minister for that purpose, under section 8(a) of this Law;
(3)Regulations made by the Minister determining what constitutes strong or unreasonable noise or odour, or Regulations determining the measures to be taken to prevent a contravention of sections 2 or 3 of this Law, or Regulations under section 57(a)(5) of the Railways Ordinance [New Version], 5732-1972 (in this Law – the Railways Ordinance), with respect to impact on the environment or the reduction or prevention of such impact as referred to in that paragraph;
(4)non-execution of an order for the removal of a nuisance under section 11b of this Law.
(b)A person who commits an offence as referred to in subsection (a) in an aggravated manner or in aggravating circumstances is liable to three years' imprisonment or double the fine referred to in section 61(a)(4) of the Penal Law, and if the offence was committed by a corporation, it is liable to four times the fine referred to in section 61(a)(4) of the Penal Law.
(b1)
(1)In respect of an offence committed by a person under subsections (a) or (b) as a result of which that person obtained a benefit or profit, for themselves or for another, the court may impose on that person a fine in the amount of the benefit or profit so obtained, in addition to any other punishment;
(2)for the purposes of this subsection, "benefit" – includes an expense that was saved;
(3)nothing in this subsection derogates from the provisions of section 63 of the Penal Law.
(b2)
(1)A person who disrupts the operation of a noise-measuring device installed in a banquet hall, events garden or discotheque pursuant to the provisions of the Business Licensing Law, 5728-1968 (in this subsection – the Business Licensing Law), is liable to a fine as referred to in section 61(a)(1) of the Penal Law; for this purpose, "noise-measuring device" – a device that measures the intensity of noise at a place, alerts when the noise level exceeds the noise level set in Regulations under the Business Licensing Law, and causes the disconnection of the electrical current to the amplification system in the banquet hall, events garden or discotheque after a warning period set in those Regulations;
(2)the provisions of this subsection shall not apply to a person to whom the provisions of section 14 of the Business Licensing Law apply.
(c)Where the offence is a continuing offence, the court may impose an additional fine at a rate of five percent of the amount of the fine prescribed for that offence, for each day on which the offence continues beyond the period of time specified in the warning, commencing on the date of its delivery; for this purpose, "warning" – a written warning from a person authorised by the Minister for that purpose.
(d)Where a person has been convicted, within two years, of a further offence under this section, that person is liable to imprisonment as referred to in subsection (a) or to double the fine that the court was empowered to impose on that person under the provisions of this section in respect of the offence of which that person was convicted.
(e)An offence under this section is an offence of strict liability.
(f)A fine imposed in respect of an offence under this Law shall be paid to the Clean Environment Fund within the meaning of the Keep Clean Law, 5744-1984 (hereinafter – the Clean Environment Fund).

Power in respect of Vehicle Alarms§

11a.
(a)A police officer may take measures in order to stop noise caused by an alarm device installed in a vehicle that has continued for more than 20 minutes.

In this section, "taking measures" – including the dismantling of or causing harm to parts of the vehicle or the alarm system, forcing entry into the vehicle or towing it.

(b)Where a motor vehicle has been opened in the course of taking measures as referred to in subsection (a), the police or the police officer who caused the opening of the motor vehicle shall not be required to post a guard next to the motor vehicle.
(c)A police officer shall not bear tortious liability for an act done under this section in good faith.
(d)The expenses of towing and storing a vehicle that has been towed under subsection (a) shall be borne by the owner of the vehicle as referred to in section 70a(3) of the Traffic Ordinance [New Version].

Power to Enter Premises for the Purpose of Stopping Noise§

11a1.
(a)Where a police officer ascertains that an offence of causing noise under section 11(a)(1) is being committed at a particular place, including a house used as a residence, and the police officer has reasonable grounds to fear that the continuation of the commission of the offence is causing a substantial disturbance to public order, the police officer may enter that place without a court order for the purpose of stopping the commission of the offence, provided that there is an urgent need, admitting of no delay, to exercise the power as aforesaid for the purpose of stopping the offence, and that a delay in exercising the power for the purpose of obtaining a court order would frustrate the possibility of stopping the offence immediately.
(b)A police officer shall not exercise the power under subsection (a) unless the officer has first identified themselves to a person present at the place by stating their name, official designation and status as a police officer, and permission to enter the place was not granted even though the officer clearly demanded that the commission of the offence be stopped and that demand was not complied with.
(c)Where a police officer has entered a place as referred to in subsection (a), the officer shall demand that the commission of the offence be stopped; where a person present at the place has refused to stop the commission of the offence as aforesaid after being required to do so, a police officer may take an essential measure required for the purpose of stopping the commission of the offence.

Order for Removal of Nuisance§

11b.
(a)Where the Minister or a person authorised by the Minister for that purpose ascertains that strong or unreasonable noise or odour is being caused in contravention of provisions under this Law or in contravention of provisions under section 57(a)(5) of the Railways Ordinance with respect to impact on the environment or the reduction or prevention of such impact as referred to in that paragraph (hereinafter – nuisance), and an indictment has not yet been filed, the Minister or that person may do the following:
(1)order the person who caused the nuisance or the owner of the property from which the nuisance originates to cease the nuisance, or to remove it to a place, in the manner and within the period of time specified in the order commencing on the date of its delivery, all as directed in the order;
(2)order the person who caused the nuisance or the owner of the property from which the nuisance originates, by an order as referred to in paragraph (1), to restore the situation, insofar as possible and in accordance with the circumstances, to its former state.
(b)Where a person has not complied with the provisions of an order issued under this section, the Minister or a person authorised by the Minister for that purpose may execute what is required under the order; having done so, the person who was ordered but did not comply with the provisions of the order shall be liable to pay double the expenses incurred, to the Clean Environment Fund; the Tax (Collection) Ordinance shall apply to the collection of expenses incurred under this section.
(c)A person authorised by the Minister for the purpose of executing an order as referred to in subsection (b) may enter any place for the purpose of executing the order, provided that such person shall not enter a place used as a residence except pursuant to an order of a court.
(d)The provisions of section 237 of the Criminal Procedure Law [Consolidated Version], 5742-1982 (hereinafter – the Criminal Procedure Law), concerning the service of documents, shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to the delivery of an order under this Law.

Application for Cancellation of Order by the Court§

11b1.
(a)A person who considers themselves harmed by an order issued under the provisions of section 11b may submit to the court competent to hear the offence that is the subject of the order an application for its cancellation.
(b)The submission of an application for the cancellation of an order under the provisions of subsection (a) does not suspend the effect of the order, so long as the court has not decided otherwise; where the court has decided to suspend the effect of the order ex parte, the application shall be heard inter partes as soon as possible, and no later than the end of seven days from the date of the decision.
(c)The court may cancel the order, confirm it or modify it.

Liability of an Office Holder in a Corporation§

11c.
(a)An office holder in a corporation is obliged to supervise and do everything possible to prevent offences under section 11 by the corporation or by any of its employees; a person who contravenes this provision is liable to double the fine referred to in section 61(a)(4) of the Penal Law; for the purposes of this section, "office holder" – an active manager in a corporation, a partner, excluding a limited partner, or an official responsible on behalf of the corporation for the field in which the offence was committed.
(b)Where an offence under section 11 has been committed by a corporation or by any of its employees, it is presumed that an office holder in the corporation has breached the duty imposed on that office holder under subsection (a), unless that office holder proves that everything possible was done to fulfil that duty.

Fine Rates§

11d.

Notwithstanding the provisions of section 221(b) of the Criminal Procedure Law, the Minister of Justice may, with the consent of the Minister, prescribe a fine rate exceeding the amount of the fine set in that section for an offence under this Law that has been designated as a fixed fine offence, as well as for a repeated, continuing or additional fixed fine offence committed by the same person, having regard to the type of offence and the circumstances of its commission, provided that the amount of the fine shall not exceed ten percent of the maximum fine prescribed for that offence.

Private Complaint§

11e.
(a)In respect of an offence under this Law, the following may file a private complaint as referred to in section 68 of the Criminal Procedure Law:
(1)any person – in respect of an offence committed in that person's private domain or that caused that person harm;
(2)a local authority – in respect of an offence committed within its area;
(3)any of the public and professional bodies listed in the Schedule to the Prevention of Environmental Nuisances (Civil Actions) Law, 5752-1992.
(b)A private complaint under subsection (a) shall not be filed unless the complainant has given notice to the Minister of the complainant's intention to do so and an indictment has not been filed on behalf of the Attorney General within 60 days thereafter.

Application to the State§

11f.
(a)This Law shall apply to the State, however –
(1)it shall not apply to the installations of the Atomic Energy Commission or to a person to whom the Control of Commodities and Services Order (Construction and Operation of a Nuclear Reactor), 5735-1974 has been applied;
(2)the provisions of this Law shall not apply to security or operational activities or to the results of such activities of –
(a)units and auxiliary units of the Prime Minister's Office whose principal activity is in the field of state security or foreign relations;
(b)auxiliary units of the Ministry of Defence whose principal activity is in the field of state security;
(c)the Israel Defence Forces,

however, such activities shall be carried out, insofar as possible, in accordance with the provisions of this Law.

(b)The provisions of this Law shall not apply to a Government company to which fields of activity of any of those listed in paragraph (a)(2) were transferred after the 23rd of Adar Bet 5757 (1 April 1997), with respect to the fields of activity transferred to it.
12.§

(Repealed — תשכ״ה)

Private Nuisance§

13.

For the purposes of the Civil Wrongs Ordinance [New Version], any contravention of a provision of this Law shall be treated as a private nuisance.

Causing an Act§

14.

Wherever this Law refers to causing a certain act, a person shall be deemed to have caused that act even if it was done in a place under his control or supervision, or by a person under his control or supervision, and he did not take all reasonable measures to prevent it; the burden of proof that such measures were taken lies on the person making that claim.

Savings§

15.

The provisions of this Law are in addition to the provisions of any enactment and shall not derogate therefrom, and nothing therein shall prevent a State authority or a local authority from prescribing provisions additional to those of this Law within the scope of their lawful powers.

Exemption§

16.

The Minister may, by Regulations, prescribe an exemption from the provisions of this Law, in whole or in part, if it is considered that this is necessary for the protection of a public right that takes precedence over the right that would be prejudiced thereby.

Non-Application of the Law§

17.
(a)The provisions of this Law shall not apply to noise and odour whose effect does not extend beyond the private domain of the person causing them.
(b)The provisions of this Law shall not apply to noise from aircraft to which section 73 of the Aviation Law, 5771-2011, applies.

Implementation and Regulations§

18.

The Minister is responsible for the implementation of this Law and may make Regulations on any matter relating to its implementation.

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