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Haaretz's Zafrir Rinat described the law "as temporary legislation for a period of 18 months," under which "every district will have a special committee authorized to discuss residential construction plans involving at least 200 units. A similar committee will operate at the national level."
Only government ministries or other bodies may submit plans for committee approval in areas with at least 80% state owned land. Moreover, quick action is called for to expedite construction of 50,000 apartments, circumventing planning commissions that take time to decide.
Opposing the measure, tent protesters plan a large August 6 Tel Aviv demonstration. One of its leaders, Yonatan Levy, said:
"Instead of increasing the state's involvement in housing and strengthening public oversight and planning, this law basically makes the planning mechanisms superfluous and weakens the ability of the public to have any influence on what's built," where, and at what cost to buyers and renters.
In fact, "(t)here's nothing in the law relating to affordable housing, to the type of apartments that will be built or to the population meant to be housed in these apartments. This law just removes another restraint from the unruly market."
Regardless of enacted provisions, it also means more Palestinian land theft and displacements to expedite settlement construction exclusively for Jews, an issue most Israelis aren't addressing.
America's Media: Ignoring Israeli Street Protests
Despite weeks of unprecedented social justice protests, America's media hardly noticed. Russia Today (RT.com), however, did in several reports, including on August 2 saying:
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