Law for the Regulation of Residence in Grazing Areas, 5785-2025

In this Law –

"close-watch zone" – a zone determined in a declaration pursuant to section 2(a);

"shepherd's house" – a residential house erected by a public body and situated in a grazing hub;

"public body" – any of the following, as the case may be:

"the competent authority" – the Minister or a person authorised by the Minister from among the employees of the Minister's office;

"national park" and "nature reserve" – as defined in the National Parks Law;

"road", "permit", "planning institution" and "plan" – as defined in the Planning and Building Law;

"grazing authorisation" – an authorisation for the grazing of sheep or cattle granted by the Israel Lands Authority for a period exceeding one year;

"National Parks Law" – National Parks, Nature Reserves, National Sites and Commemoration Sites Law, 5758-1998;

"Planning and Building Law" – Planning and Building Law, 5725-1965;

"agricultural structure" – a structure used directly for tending a herd, including a pen, sheepfold, barn, open implement shed, open-sided shed, or another such structure prescribed by the Minister in Regulations pursuant to section 21;

"grazing hub" – an area situated in or adjacent to a close-watch zone, containing at least one agricultural structure and one shepherd's house only;

"Ministry of Agriculture" – the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security;

"district planner" – as its meaning in section 8 of the Planning and Building Law;

"herd" – at least 200 head of female sheep or cattle;

"the advisory team" – as its meaning in section 5;

"shepherd" – a person who meets all of the following:

"security area" – any of the following:

"protected area" – an area designated in a plan for any of the following: a national park, nature reserve, man-made forest, park forest, or natural forest;

"grazing area" – real property that constitutes Israel Lands as their meaning in Basic Law: Israel Lands, which the Israel Lands Authority has allocated for the purpose of grazing and in respect of which there is a valid grazing authorisation, or an area defined according to a map prepared by the Israel Lands Authority and which the Israel Lands Authority has approved for allocation for the purpose of grazing;

"grazing hub plan" – a plan whose boundaries include a grazing hub and which meets the conditions set out in sections 8 and 9;

"development plan" – any of the following:

the terms appearing in this paragraph shall have the meaning ascribed to them in the Planning and Building Law;

"the Minister" – the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security.

The validity of a declaration pursuant to section 2 shall not exceed six years; however, the Minister may, on the recommendation of the advisory team, extend the validity of the declaration from time to time for additional periods not exceeding six years each, if the Minister has found that the conditions in section 2 are satisfied, even if the grazing area has diminished by a rate not exceeding 20% of the area referred to in section 2(a)(1).

If the initial declaration period has elapsed and a plan for the establishment of a grazing hub in a close-watch zone has not yet been approved, the declaration shall lapse.

The provisions of the Planning and Building Law shall apply to all matters regulated under this Chapter, unless this Chapter provides otherwise in respect of the same matter.

A local outline plan that includes the provisions of a detailed plan for a grazing hub and which encompasses all of the following subjects is a plan within the jurisdiction of the local committee:

The local committee shall approve a grazing hub plan, unless it has found that one of the following applies:

Notwithstanding the provisions of section 145 of the Planning and Building Law, where a grazing hub plan has been submitted to the local committee, an application for a permit conforming to the plan may be submitted to the local committee after the decision on the deposit of the plan and before its deposit, provided that the submitter of the plan requested to submit the permit application at the time of submitting the grazing hub plan; and the provisions pursuant to section 145a1(b) to (g) of that Law applicable to a plan for expedited licensing as defined in section 145a1 shall apply in this regard, with the necessary modifications.

Notwithstanding the provisions of the National Parks Law, a grazing hub plan within the boundaries of a national park or nature reserve may be a plan permitting use for a grazing hub pursuant to this Law; provisions under that Law applicable to a national park or nature reserve shall continue to apply within the area of the plan even after the approval of a plan as referred to in this Law, and nothing in the provisions of this Law shall derogate from them or from the powers of the Nature and Parks Authority vested in it by virtue thereof.