Soil contamination in Sde Dov: Lotteries for plots postponed, Adam Teva V'Din opposes dismissal of petition

Despite the request of the managers of the 'Gush HaGadol' to proceed with the lottery for the distribution of rights between landowners in Sde Dov, the Magistrate's Court in Herzliya ruled that the lottery should not be promoted at this stage. This follows a request by some of the rights holders to wait until the extent of PFAS contamination in the soil and its implications for the value of rights in the various complexes are clarified. The court emphasized that the decision is valid only for the current time, and that receiving new data may lead to a different decision later.

The background to the decision is a dispute between some of the rights holders and the managers of the 'Gush HaGadol' in Tel Aviv. Some of the landowners, represented by Adv. Doron Kochavi, requested to delay the lottery until the extent of the contamination and its implications are clarified, while the managers of the 'Gush HaGadol' requested to continue the procedure, arguing that there is no justification for delaying it.

The 'Gush HaGadol', managed under a partition procedure, includes thousands of private rights holders who are supposed to receive rights in three complexes. In the Eshkol complex, it involves about 818 equivalent housing units, in the second complex about 1,483 units, and in the third complex about 202 units. The lottery was intended to determine to which complex the landowners' rights would be allocated, after years of proceedings.

The issue arose following the discovery of PFAS anomalies in the soil and groundwater, which led to a demand for additional tests. In May, the court ordered the lottery to be delayed until August 11, but the tests have not yet been completed. The Israel Land Authority (ILA) updated that interim funding for the continuation of the investigations has been approved, and that the testing plans are awaiting approval from the Ministry of Environmental Protection.

"I have no factual data before me"

However, the court has now ruled that the lottery should not be carried out at this time. The judge noted that the argument that the contamination should not delay the lottery of the complexes is only valid if the extent of the contamination, the duration of its treatment, and the cleaning costs are similar in both complexes. "The problem is that at this time I have no factual data before me that determines this," he ruled.

According to the court, if the extent of the contamination, the duration of the delay, and the cost of cleaning are different between the complexes, it is possible that its impact on the value of the complexes will be different - and therefore the coefficients set by the appraiser may also change. In such a case, carrying out the lottery now based on existing coefficients could lead to an "unequal distribution," when it concerns rights worth billions of shekels.

The court also rejected the argument that it is possible to carry out the lottery of the complexes now and only deal with the contamination later. It was determined that even if the lottery for the plots themselves is not carried out at this stage, it is unclear how the mere distribution of the complexes will actually advance planning and construction.

"It appears, therefore, that except for some saving of time due to carrying out the lottery for the complexes, there will be no real progress in the planning and execution of the projects by carrying it out now," it was determined.

Accordingly, the court ordered not to carry out the lottery of the complexes at this stage. However, it emphasized that this is a determination valid only for the current time, and that receiving new data on the extent of the contamination may change the picture and lead to a different decision later.

At the same time, the ILA's position noted that within about a month, the soil testing plans in the complex are expected to be approved. Accordingly, the court ordered the ILA to submit a detailed update on the matter by October 6, 2026.

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Despite the Supreme Court's recommendation: Adam Teva V'Din opposes the dismissal of the petition regarding soil contamination

Another proceeding in which developments were recorded around the issue of soil contamination concerns Adam Teva V'Din, which filed its response today (Sunday) to the Supreme Court's recommendation to dismiss the petition it filed at the end of 2022 against the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Ministry of Health, and the Water Authority, demanding to regulate the treatment of soil and groundwater contamination from PFAS compounds, and to formulate a policy to prevent further contamination.

Since the filing of the petition, the state has promoted various steps in the field, and in 2023 the Supreme Court even demanded that the state present a timetable for dealing with the issue. However, at the same time, the dimensions of the contamination have expanded: according to the state's update to the Supreme Court, there are currently 35 sites across the country suspected of PFAS contamination, and in 12 of them, the existence of contamination in the soil and/or groundwater has already been confirmed.

Among the sites: Sde Dov, Sirkin camp in Petah Tikva, Glilot area, Herzliya airport, Kiryat Haim terminal, Air Force Base 27 in Lod, airports in Ramat David, Eilat, and Atarot, fuel farms at Ben Gurion Airport, fuel bases in Ashdod and Nesher, as well as power plants and fuel farms in Ashdod and Hadera.

The association's response comes after the Supreme Court recommended this month to dismiss the petition, arguing that since its filing, there has been significant progress in dealing with the issue, and that the factual infrastructure on which the petition relied has changed significantly. However, the court emphasized that the work has not yet been completed, and that the treatment of the issue must be completed as soon as possible, and asked the petitioners to notify if they agree to the dismissal of the petition.

"The risk to public health continues"

Regarding the Supreme Court's recommendation submitted this morning by Adam Teva V'Din, the association clarified that they oppose the dismissal of the petition at this stage. According to them, although the state has promoted certain steps, this is progress that does not justify ending the procedure, since almost four years after the filing of the petition, the regulations that are supposed to regulate and limit the import, use, trade, and disposal of products containing PFAS have not yet been enacted.

Adam Teva V'Din argues that although the state is working to implement new conditions in the poison permits of about 700 factories that use PFAS-based firefighting foams, this is a correction of an existing regulatory failure, and not a substitute for broad regulation that would prevent the entry of the materials into use in the first place. "The actions that the respondents are carrying out now are an important interim measure within the framework of existing law, but the comprehensive and fundamental solution, to which the petition was directed from the beginning, is the enactment of the regulations," it was written in the response.

Adam Teva V'Din also argues that at the same time, the extent of the contamination continues to expand. According to them, the state's announcements over the years indicate the discovery of additional centers of contamination in the soil and groundwater, and in some of the sites, actions were required to prevent the spread of contamination towards production wells.

Adam Teva V'Din emphasizes in particular that the number of drinking water wells that were disqualified due to excessive concentrations of PFAS has risen to 18.

According to them, this picture strengthens the need for continued supervision by the Supreme Court over the treatment of the issue. "There is a real fear that without judicial supervision, the treatment of the issue will continue to be postponed and dragged out without the required regulation being actually completed," it was written in the response.

Adam Teva V'Din recalls that already in 2020 an inter-ministerial team was established to deal with PFAS, and in 2021 it was determined that the Ministry of Environmental Protection would prepare dedicated regulations to limit the use of the materials. However, according to Adam Teva V'Din, the deadline set for the enactment of the regulations has passed, the draft regulations were published only in July 2025, and now the state still does not present a date when the regulations are expected to enter into force.

The association also notes that the contamination is not limited to sites where industrial or military activity is carried out, but is also found in areas designated for construction. In the response, they refer, among other things, to Sde Dov and Sirkin camp, and argue that these are sites designated for the construction of tens of thousands of housing units.

In the summary of the response, Adam Teva V'Din asks the Supreme Court not to dismiss the petition, but to set a deadline for the state to complete the regulations, and to continue to monitor the implementation of the treatment of the issue. Alternatively, if the court decides to dismiss the petition, Adam Teva V'Din asks to be awarded costs, among other things due to the work invested in the petition and the update notices over the years.