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

חוק גנים לאומיים, שמורות טבע, אתרים לאומיים ואתרי הנצחה, תשנ"ח-1998

Published: 1998-04-05Consolidated Hebrew text as of 2023-09-18 · Last amended 2021-11-15✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-08
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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

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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.

Chapter V: Protected Natural Values

Declaration of a Protected Natural Value and Regulations for the Prohibition of Harm Thereto§

33.
(a)
(1)The Minister may declare a natural value that the Minister considers worthy of preservation or in danger of extinction to be a protected natural value, whether throughout the entire country or in a particular region or place; a declaration of a protected natural value shall be published in Reshumot (Official Gazette);
(2)The Minister shall not declare a natural value that is an antiquity within the meaning of the Antiquities Law to be a protected natural value, except after consultation with the Director within the meaning of that Law.
(b)The Minister, after consultation with the Council, may prescribe in Regulations provisions concerning a protected natural value, the regulation of its preservation, the encouragement of its reproduction, its keeping and its protection, whether generally or in relation to a region, place or season.
(c)No person shall cause harm to a protected natural value, except pursuant to a general or special permit from the Director.
(d)No person shall trade in a protected natural value except pursuant to a general or special permit from the Director, and no person shall keep a protected natural value except pursuant to such a permit or if the person acquired the natural value from the holder of a trading permit for that natural value.
(e)In this section –

"harm" includes destruction, demolition, breaking, vandalism, picking, uprooting, taking, lifting, poisoning, changing the natural form or position of a natural value or interference with the course of its natural development, its reproduction or its preservation;

"trade" includes purchase, sale, exchange, export, re-export, import, introduction from the sea and an offer to trade.

Burden of Proof§

34.

Where a protected natural value is found in a person's possession or control, or in a vehicle, vessel or aircraft owned or controlled by that person that is not a public vehicle, the burden of proof that the person holds it lawfully shall lie upon that person.

Licences and Permits§

35.

A general or special licence or permit under this Chapter shall be granted by the Director in accordance with rules that have been prescribed, and the Director may refuse to grant it, grant it subject to restrictions or conditions, cancel it, suspend it or amend it.

Licensing and Permit Fees§

36.
(a)In addition to the Minister's power under section 9, the Minister may, on the proposal of the Authority and with the consent of the Minister of Finance, prescribe in Regulations fees for licences or permits granted under this Chapter, including the prescription of an exemption from payment thereof, in whole or in part.
(b)The provisions of section 9(b) and (c) shall apply, with the necessary modifications, also to fees under this section.

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Chapter V-A: Prohibition of Driving in a Protected Area

Definitions§

36a.

In this Chapter –

"water source" means a spring, stream, river, lake, channel, and any other watercourse in which surface water flows or collects, permanently or intermittently, excluding the sea, or an area adjacent to any of these;

"driving", "vehicle" have the meanings assigned to them in the Prohibition of Driving a Vehicle on the Seashore Law, 5757-1997;

"protected value" means any of the following:

(1)a protected natural value;
(2)sand dunes, abrasion platforms and rock outcrops, caves, natural cliffs and river estuary zones;
(3)geological phenomena related to a water source, including salt deposits;
(4)habitat and breeding areas of fauna and flora;
(5)antiquities sites and antiquities as defined in the Antiquities Law;
(6)artificial means and installations for the protection of a protected value listed in paragraphs (1) to (5);

"protected area" means an area determined by the Minister pursuant to section 36b.

Determination and Amendment of a Protected Area§

36b.
(a)For the purpose of protecting a protected value, the Minister may direct by Order that an area within a water source, or an area designated as a national park or a nature reserve in a plan that has been deposited or approved under the Planning Law, be designated as a protected area, excluding areas that are roads regulated under legislation and car parks.
(b)The designation of areas referred to in subsection (a) that relates to the bounds of a port as defined in the Ports Ordinance [New Version], 5731-1971, shall be carried out in consultation with the Minister of Transport and Road Safety.
(c)An area designated as a protected area shall be marked by the Director in the manner prescribed by the Minister by Order, after consultation with the Minister of Transport and Road Safety.

Prohibition of Driving in a Protected Area§

36c.
(a)No person shall drive a vehicle in a protected area.
(b)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), a person may drive a vehicle in a protected area for one of the purposes enumerated in section 4a(a) of the Coastal Environment Protection Law, 5764-2004 (in this Law – the Coastal Environment Protection Law).

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Chapter VI: National Sites

Definitions§

37.

In this Chapter and in Chapter VII, "injury" includes destruction, damage, demolition, breaking, sabotage, alteration of form or commission of any act capable of degrading the site or harming its dignity.

Declaration of a National Site§

38.

The Minister of the Interior, in consultation with the Council, may declare in Reshumot (Official Gazette) an area as a national site and, if the Minister sees fit, determine its boundaries; the provisions of sections 22 to 28 shall apply to national sites, with such modifications as are required by the matter.

Regulations§

39.

The Minister may, after consulting the Council, make Regulations for the prohibition of harm to a national site and for regulating its preservation, maintenance, protection and management, including rules concerning the conduct of visitors therein, whether generally or in relation to a particular national site.

Prohibition of Harm§

40.

No person shall cause harm to a national site.

Assignment of Functions§

41.
(a)The Minister, with the consent of the Minister of Finance, may impose on the Authority, by Order, the implementation of the provisions of this Chapter and the Regulations made thereunder.
(b)Such implementation may be carried out, with the consent of the Minister of the Interior, in cooperation with a local authority and also outside nature reserves or national parks.
(c)Where a national site is of special local value, the Minister may, with the consent of the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Finance, impose by Order the management of the site on the local authority within whose area it is situated.

Grant of a Permit to Manage a National Site§

41a.
(a)Without derogating from the provisions of section 41, the Minister may grant a permit to manage a national site to a body in addition to the bodies enumerated in that section (in this Chapter – a permit to manage a national site), in which all of the following conditions are met, provided that the Minister has found that there is no bar to granting a permit under this section by reason of the rights in respect of the real property in which the national site is situated:
(1)it is a corporation incorporated in Israel that operates on a not-for-profit basis;
(2)among its objects is the preservation of structures and sites of national historical importance in the development of settlement in the land;
(3)the corporation, an office holder therein or the manager of the corporation has not been convicted of an offence that, by reason of its nature, gravity or circumstances, renders the corporation unfit to manage a national site, and no indictment has been filed against any of them for such an offence in respect of which a final judgment has not yet been given.
(b)The Minister, with the approval of the Interior and Environment Protection Committee of the Knesset, may prescribe additional conditions to those enumerated in subsection (a).

Selection of the Holder of a Permit to Manage a National Site§

41b.
(a)The selection of the holder of a permit to manage a national site shall be made by a competitive, equal and public process, within the framework of which proposals shall be received from interested bodies that satisfy the conditions under section 41a.
(b)Bidders as referred to in subsection (a) shall be required to submit a plan for the management of a national site, which shall serve, inter alia, for the purpose of assessing the suitability of the bidder to receive a permit.
(c)The Minister may require a bidder as referred to in subsection (a) to provide any information necessary for the purpose of examining the bidder's proposal.
(d)In this Chapter, "site management plan" means a plan for the preservation, rehabilitation and maintenance of a national site, including the planned use of the site and the structures therein, a specification of the financial sources for funding the preservation, rehabilitation and maintenance activities of the site and for providing services to visitors therein.

Conditions of the Permit to Manage a National Site§

41c.
(a)A permit to manage a national site shall include a site management plan as submitted by the bidder as referred to in section 41b, or with such modifications as the Minister has determined, and the manner of its implementation.
(b)The Minister may prescribe conditions in a permit to manage a national site, including conditions that must be fulfilled before the permit enters into force, as well as provisions and restrictions on any matter arising from the provisions of this Law; the Minister may update from time to time the conditions in the permit as well as the details of the site management plan.
(c)The holder of a permit to manage a national site shall comply with all the conditions prescribed by the Minister under subsection (b).

Validity of the Permit to Manage a National Site§

41d.
(a)A permit to manage a national site shall be for a period not exceeding ten years, and the Minister may extend it for one additional period not exceeding ten years.
(b)The Minister may cancel, restrict or make conditional a permit to manage a national site, if the Minister has found that one of the following has occurred, provided that the permit holder has been given an opportunity to present arguments –
(1)the permit holder has not complied with provisions under this Law, the gravity of the breach of which justifies the cancellation, restriction or making conditional of the permit;
(2)the permit holder has not disclosed to the Minister information that the permit holder was required to disclose, or has provided false or incorrect information;
(3)the permit holder has breached a condition of the conditions prescribed by the Minister under section 41c;
(4)one or more of the conditions under the provisions of this Law qualifying the permit holder to manage a national site have ceased to be satisfied, or a condition under the provisions of this Law that would have disqualified the permit holder from managing a national site has become satisfied;
(5)the public interest so requires.
(c)The validity of a permit to manage a national site shall expire upon any of the following:
(1)the permit holder has resolved on its voluntary winding-up or a court has issued an Order for its winding-up;
(2)a court has issued a receiving Order or a temporary winding-up Order in respect of the permit holder;
(3)a court has issued a stay of proceedings Order, within the meaning thereof in section 350b of the Companies Law, 5759-1999, in respect of the permit holder.
(d)The holder of a permit to manage a national site is not entitled to any compensation by reason of the cancellation, restriction or making conditional of the permit under this section.

Restrictions on Transfer of Rights§

41e.

A permit to manage a national site and the rights of the permit holder in assets in a national site are not transferable, chargeable (security interest) or attachable.

Functions of the Holder of a Permit to Manage a National Site§

41f.

The holder of a permit to manage a national site shall maintain, operate and develop the national site under its management, carry out preservation activities for the site and provide services to visitors, in accordance with the provisions of this Law and the conditions of the permit.

Reporting Duties and Submission of Documents§

41g.

The holder of a permit to manage a national site, or a person charged with managing a national site, shall submit to the Minister, once a year, a report on its activities, and shall also be required to submit to the Minister, or to a person authorised by the Minister for that purpose, documents and information concerning its activities, whenever required to do so.

Powers in respect of National Sites§

41h.
(a)The Minister shall appoint, from among the employees of the Minister's office, a director in respect of national sites; such director shall be vested, in respect of national sites, with the powers conferred on the director under sections 54 and 55.
(b)For the purpose of supervising the provisions of this Law, in all matters relating to the management of a national site pursuant to a permit, the Minister may authorise, from among the employees of the Minister's office, supervisors in respect of national sites.
(c)For the purpose of fulfilling their functions, the director in respect of national sites and the supervisors under this section shall have the power to enter any national site.
(d)Sections 29 and 30(a) to (c) shall apply in respect of national sites, and the powers conferred on the Authority under those sections shall be vested in the director in respect of national sites appointed under subsection (a).

Collection of Admission Fees to a National Site§

41i.
(a)The holder of a permit to manage a national site may collect admission fees to the area of a national site or part thereof, as the Minister has determined, and the Minister may prescribe different rates, exemptions for categories of visitors or different restrictions on the collection of admission fees.
(b)The revenues from admission fees under this section shall be used by the holder of the permit to manage a national site solely for the purpose of carrying out the permit holder's functions under section 41f.

Implementation Powers§

42.

Where the implementation of the provisions of this Chapter has been imposed on the Authority, as referred to in section 41, the Authority shall, for that purpose, have the powers conferred upon it under this Law.

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Chapter VII: Commemoration Sites

The Council for Commemoration Sites§

43.
(a)The Minister of Defence shall appoint a Council for Commemoration Sites (hereinafter – the Commemoration Council), whose members shall be as follows:
(1)five Government representatives, as detailed below:
(a)two representatives of the Ministry of Defence, to be designated by the Minister of Defence;
(b)a representative of the Ministry of Finance, to be designated by the Minister of Finance;
(c)a representative of the Ministry of the Interior, to be designated by the Minister of the Interior;
(d)a representative of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport, to be designated by the Minister of Education, Culture and Sport;
(e)a representative of the Ministry for Environmental Quality, to be designated by the Minister for Environmental Quality;
(2)a public representative, to be designated by the Minister of Defence;
(3)two representatives of local authorities, to be designated by the Minister of the Interior;
(4)a representative from among the families of those killed in hostile acts, to be designated by the Minister of Welfare;
(5)a representative of the Public Council for the Commemoration of the Soldier;
(6)a representative of the Council for National Parks, Nature Reserves and National Sites;
(7)a representative of the Bereaved Families Organisation – Yad LaBanim;
(8)a representative of the Organisation of Israel Defence Forces Widows and Orphans;
(9)a representative of the Council for the Preservation of Buildings and Settlement Sites.
(b)The Minister of Defence, after consulting the Commemoration Council, shall appoint a chairperson for the Council from among its members.
(c)The Minister of the Interior, in consultation with the Minister of Defence and the Minister of Labour and Welfare, may make Regulations concerning the term of office of members of the Commemoration Council, the expiry of their office and the rules of procedure of the Council.
(d)The Commemoration Council shall determine rules for its activities and rules of procedure, to the extent that these have not been prescribed under this Law.
(e)The Commemoration Council shall act with any number of members even if its membership has decreased or if it has not been fully appointed as referred to in subsection (a), provided that a chairperson has been appointed for it.

Function of the Commemoration Council§

44.

The Commemoration Council may advise the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Defence on all matters relating to commemoration sites, including matters concerning additional activities under section 46(b1) and the matter of consolidating memorial projects established before the 7th of Nisan 5746 (16 April 1986) into a single commemoration site, after consultation with their initiators or those responsible for them.

Declaration of a National Commemoration Site§

45.
(a)The Minister of Defence may, after consulting the Commemoration Council or upon its proposal and with the approval of the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee of the Knesset, declare in Reshumot (Official Gazette) an area or a commemoration site as a national commemoration site or as a corps commemoration site.
(b)The Minister of Defence may, after consulting the Commemoration Council or upon its proposal and with the approval of the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee of the Knesset, prescribe additional criteria for the purpose of a declaration under subsection (a).

Maintenance of a National Commemoration Site and a Corps Commemoration Site§

46.
(a)The expenditure budget for the maintenance and renovation of national commemoration sites and corps commemoration sites shall be determined in the Budget Law in a separate item, within the meaning thereof in the Budget Foundations Law, 5745-1985, and shall not be less than NIS 10,000,000; this amount shall be updated on 16 February of each year, in accordance with the rate of increase of the new index as against the base index; for this purpose –

"index" means the consumer price index published by the Central Bureau of Statistics;

"the new index" means the index of January of each year;

"the base index" means the index of July 1997.

(a1)Without derogating from the provisions of section 49, the Minister of Defence may, in consultation with the Minister of Finance and the Minister of the Interior, approve a budget for the maintenance of local commemoration sites, from the budget approved under subsection (a).
(a2)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), in each of the budget years detailed below the expenditure budget for the maintenance and renovation of national commemoration sites and corps commemoration sites shall not be less than the amounts set out alongside them –
(1)in 2004 – five million new Israeli shekels;
(2)in 2005 – five million new Israeli shekels;
(3)in 2006 – seven and a half million new Israeli shekels.
(b)Responsibility for the maintenance of national commemoration sites and corps commemoration sites lies with the State through the Ministry of Defence.
(b1)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), the expenditure budget referred to in that subsection may also be designated for the activity of commemorating the fallen, to be conducted at the sites referred to in that subsection by the State or by a local authority or corporation that has received a permit as referred to in section 46a.
(b2)Where a local authority or corporation has received a permit for the maintenance of a national commemoration site or a corps commemoration site pursuant to section 46a, the Ministry of Defence shall transfer to them an annual budget to be determined from the budget amount prescribed in subsection (a).
(c)(Repealed)

Permit for maintenance of a commemoration site§

46a.
(a)Notwithstanding the provisions of section 46(b), the Minister of Defence may grant a local authority or a corporation a permit for the maintenance of a national commemoration site, a corps commemoration site or a local commemoration site (in this Chapter – permit), provided that no permit shall be granted to a corporation unless, among other things, the following conditions are satisfied in respect of it:
(1)it was incorporated in Israel and operates on a not-for-profit basis;
(2)the objects of the corporation are directly connected to Israel's wars, to the fallen, to the corps or to the formations commemorated at the site in respect of which the permit was applied for, and to the commemoration site itself, and among its objects is the maintenance of the site;
(3)the corporation, an office holder therein or the manager of the corporation has not been convicted of an offence which, by reason of its nature, gravity or circumstances, renders the corporation unfit to maintain the commemoration site in respect of which the permit is sought, and no indictment has been filed against any of them for such an offence in respect of which a final judgment has not yet been given.
(b)A permit shall be for a period not exceeding five years, and may be extended for additional periods each not exceeding five years; the permit shall be subject to conditions including reporting arrangements by the permit holder concerning its activities and expenditures.
(c)The Minister of Defence may revoke, restrict or impose conditions upon a permit at any time, at the request of the permit holder or if he has found that a condition of the permit has been breached or that the permit holder is unable to maintain the site, provided that he has given the permit holder an opportunity to be heard.

Regulations concerning a national commemoration site and a corps commemoration site§

46b.

The Minister of Defence, after consulting the Commemoration Council or on its proposal, may make Regulations concerning rules of conduct at a national commemoration site and at a corps commemoration site, the prohibition of causing harm to them, the regulation of their guarding, maintenance, protection and treatment, and the manner of acknowledging donations and the names of donors at the commemoration site, whether generally or in respect of a particular site.

Entry fees to a commemoration site and payments for additional activity§

46c.
(a)No entry fees shall be collected for a commemoration site.
(b)The Minister of Defence, after consulting the Commemoration Council or on its proposal, may prescribe provisions concerning the collection of a payment by the permit holder for additional activity taking place at a national commemoration site or at a corps commemoration site or a part thereof, which relates to the character of that site, and the Minister may prescribe different rates, exemptions for categories of visitors or various restrictions on the collection of such a payment.
(c)The revenues from payments under subsection (b) shall be used by the permit holder solely for the performance of its functions under section 46a.

Declaration of a local commemoration site§

47.
(a)The Minister of the Interior may, after consulting the Commemoration Council or on its proposal, and after consulting the relevant local authority, declare in Reshumot (Official Gazette) an area to be a local commemoration site.
(b)The Minister of the Interior shall not declare a local commemoration site unless he is satisfied that the means for its establishment and maintenance have been assured.

Establishment of a local commemoration site§

48.

The expenses for the establishment of a local commemoration site shall be borne, in whole or in part, by the initiator or by another person who has consented thereto, all as agreed to the satisfaction of the Minister of the Interior on the eve of the declaration, as referred to in section 47(b).

Maintenance of a local commemoration site§

49.
(a)Responsibility for the maintenance of a local commemoration site rests with the local authority within whose area it is situated, whether directly or through an initiator or another person who has consented thereto.
(b)The expenses for the maintenance of a local commemoration site shall be borne, in whole or in part, by the local authority within whose area it is situated, by the initiator or by another person who has consented thereto, all as agreed to the satisfaction of the Minister of the Interior on the eve of the declaration, as referred to in section 47(b).
(c)If the initiator or the other person has not borne the maintenance expenses as prescribed, or has ceased to bear the expenses, the Minister of the Interior shall, after consulting the Commemoration Council or on its proposal, and after consulting the relevant local authority, direct upon whom the maintenance expenses, in whole or in part, shall be imposed.
(d)The Minister of the Interior may, after consulting the Commemoration Council or on its proposal, make Regulations concerning the maintenance of local commemoration sites; the Regulations may apply to all local commemoration sites or to a particular site; where the Regulations apply to a particular site, the Minister shall also consult the local authority within whose area it is situated.

Application of provisions§

50.

The provisions of sections 22 to 28 shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to a national commemoration site, a corps commemoration site and a local commemoration site, and wherever in those sections "the Council" appears, it shall be read as "the Commemoration Council".

Regulations concerning a local commemoration site§

51.

The Minister of the Interior, after consulting the Minister of Defence and the Commemoration Council, may make Regulations concerning rules of conduct at a local commemoration site, the prohibition of causing harm to it, the regulation of its guarding, maintenance, protection and treatment, and the manner of acknowledging donations and the names of donors at the commemoration site, whether generally or in respect of a particular site.

Prohibitions§

52.
(a)No person shall erect a monument intended for commemoration except in an area declared pursuant to this Chapter.
(b)No person shall desecrate a national commemoration site, a corps commemoration site or a local commemoration site or cause harm to them in any other manner.

Application of provisions§

53.
(a)The provisions of the National Parks, Nature Reserves and National Heritage Sites Law, 5723-1963 (hereinafter – the 5723 Parks Law) shall continue to apply to a commemoration site and a national commemoration site that were declared as such before the commencement of the National Parks, Nature Reserves, National Sites and Commemoration Sites Law, 5752-1992 (hereinafter – the 5752 Parks Law).
(b)The provisions of the 5723 Parks Law shall apply to a commemoration site as referred to in subsection (a) that was established before the commencement of the 5752 Parks Law in all matters relating to its maintenance, and the State shall not bear the expenses of its establishment.

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