What Is the Metro Project?
The Metro Project is a plan to build an underground railway system in central Israel. It is expected to pass through the territory of 24 local authorities and to expand and complete the mass-transit network in central Israel, alongside the light rail lines (“Dankal”).
The Metro system is expected to include three lines:
- M1 – A north-to-south line: Ra’anana, Kfar Saba, Hod Hasharon, Herzliya, Ramat Hasharon, Tel Aviv, Holon, Be’er Ya’akov, Ramla, Lod, Rishon LeZion, Ness Ziona, Rehovot, and South Sharon.
- M2 – An east-to-west line: Petah Tikva, Bnei Brak, Givat Shmuel, Ramat Gan, Givatayim, Tel Aviv, and Holon.
- M3 – A semi-circular line connecting the Metro and light rail lines and enabling transfers between them.
As of 2026, this is the largest transportation infrastructure project being promoted in Israel.
According to current estimates, construction is expected to be completed in 2037.
The estimated construction cost is approximately NIS 150 billion.
The project’s legal framework rests primarily on the Metro Railway Law, 2021, and the Metro Railway Order, 2022, enacted under that law.
The project is being carried out by NTA – Metropolitan Mass Transit System Ltd., which is also responsible for the light rail project.
To carry out the project, various properties along the Metro route will need to be vacated. Current estimates indicate that approximately 900 properties will be affected, most of them residential units, with the remainder office buildings, factories, and other properties.
In addition, NTA must carry out a process of expropriating privately owned land along the planned Metro lines. This is needed for work areas, Metro stations, ventilation shafts, access shafts for excavation machines, maintenance and operations depots, and other project infrastructure.
What Is Expropriation?
Land expropriation is the compulsory acquisition of privately owned land by public authorities for a public purpose.
Such public purposes include building roads, laying railway tracks, and constructing hospitals, military bases, fire stations, and other public infrastructure, including an underground railway system such as the Metro Project.
In Israel, land can be expropriated under numerous laws, each of which gives specific public authorities the power to expropriate land for specific public purposes. The two principal expropriation laws are the Land Ordinance (Acquisition for Public Purposes), 1943, and the Planning and Building Law, 1965.
The land expropriation process for the Metro Project is carried out under the Land Ordinance (Acquisition for Public Purposes), 1943.
What Are the Stages of the Expropriation Process?
No one disputes that expropriation is a governmental procedure that can severely infringe the property rights of private landowners, even where it is unavoidable for the public good. The legislature therefore set out several stages designed, among other things, to let anyone affected by the expropriation object and raise concerns where appropriate.
The main stages of the expropriation process are:
1. Decision and Declaration Stage
This stage begins with a lawful decision to expropriate the property, including a preliminary decision to change the property’s designation to one intended for public purposes.
The expropriation decision must be made by a public authority legally empowered to make it, for a public purpose defined by law, and where there is no reasonable alternative for achieving that purpose.
Once the decision to expropriate has been made, it must be publicly announced, above all so that private owners learn of the intention to expropriate their land and can submit objections.
A detailed notice must be published specifying the property intended for expropriation, the purpose of the expropriation, and its timing. The notice must be published in the Official Gazette (Yalkut HaPirsumim), in the press, and on a physical sign placed on or near the property.
Personal notice must also be given to each registered owner of the property according to the Land Registry (Tabu), and a warning note about the expropriation must be registered in the Land Registry.
2. Taking Possession Stage
After publication of the expropriation decision, a further notice is issued requiring whoever holds the expropriated property to hand physical possession of it to the expropriating authority on the date specified in the notice.
3. Transfer of Ownership and Payment of Compensation
The expropriation process ends with the registration of ownership of the property in the Land Registry in the name of the public authority that expropriated it, together with payment of compensation to the former private owners.
The Land Expropriation Process for the Metro Project
As noted above, implementing the plans and providing the land the Metro Project requires means expropriating privately owned land.
This includes parcels identified in the acquisition plans for public purposes, as well as expropriation orders issued by the Ministry of Transport announcing their compulsory acquisition for public purposes and published in the Official Gazette. Warning notes for these parcels were then registered in the Land Registry.
At the beginning of 2026, NTA also sent personal notices about the expropriation process to approximately 11,000 registered rights holders of various lands and properties, covering more than 800 parcels in cities where the Metro lines will be built, including Tel Aviv, Petah Tikva, Holon, Bat Yam, Or Yehuda, Kiryat Ono, and Rishon LeZion.
The personal notice documents sent by NTA include:
- A notice about the expropriation, detailing the expropriated property, the expropriation notice published in the Official Gazette, the type of expropriation (full or temporary), NTA contact information, and the date of the meeting with NTA’s expropriation team at the affected property.
- A plan marking the area intended for expropriation.
- General information about the Metro Project and the expropriation process.
How Will Eligibility for Expropriation Compensation and Its Amount Be Determined?
In principle, eligibility for expropriation compensation and the amount of compensation are determined according to law.
To determine eligibility and the amount of compensation, NTA has appointed an “Expropriation Team”, consisting of an expropriation consultant, a real estate appraiser, a legal adviser, a surveyor, a project manager, a community-relations adviser, and additional NTA representatives.
The Expropriation Team is expected to meet the property owner at the expropriated property at the time specified in the personal notice sent by NTA.
At this meeting, the team will examine the property designated for expropriation and anything attached to it, including buildings, installations, vegetation, and similar features. A “Documentation Protocol” will also be prepared, recording the property’s existing condition. This protocol will serve as a basis for setting the amount of expropriation compensation under the law. The team will also coordinate the next steps for taking possession of the land and answer questions.
To prepare properly for this meeting, private property owners are advised to gather all documents proving and verifying their personal details and property rights, together with any other documents or information that may be relevant. Owners may also invite additional people to the meeting, including family members.
After the meeting, the Expropriation Team will review the documents the property owners provided, along with additional documents available through official databases, and will prepare an appraisal report to determine eligibility for expropriation compensation.
The amount of compensation will be based on an appraisal prepared by an appraiser acting for NTA and reviewed by another appraiser and professional advisers. Eligible parties will then receive a payment notice containing the appraisal and listing the documents they must provide to NTA so payment can be made. The expropriated property will then be taken into possession and fenced off.
What Should a Private Landowner Do After Receiving an Expropriation Notice from NTA?
On receiving an expropriation notice, the first recommended step is to examine whether there is any defect in the legality of the expropriation, with the help of an attorney experienced in real estate and expropriation law.
If such a defect is identified, the next question is whether there are grounds to act to have the expropriation cancelled.
If no such defect is found, the focus should shift to the expropriation compensation, verifying that the amount NTA has set is fair and appropriate. If the compensation appears inadequate, an objection to the amount may be submitted to the Objections Committee for Expropriation Compensation under the Land Ordinance.
Expropriation compensation consists essentially of two components:
A. Compensation for the Reduction in the Value of the Land
This compensation is based on Section 197 of the Planning and Building Law and is subject to full capital gains tax, like the tax that applies when real estate is sold voluntarily rather than expropriated.
B. Compensation for the Expropriation Itself
This compensation is also subject to capital gains tax, but only at half the rate of the capital gains tax that would apply to a voluntary sale of the property.
Claim for Compensation Due to a Reduction in Land Value
A claim for a reduction in land value is filed under Section 197 of the Planning and Building Law for planning-related damage caused by the approval of a plan. The damage may be direct or indirect.
Direct damage is caused by the plan itself, for example a plan changing the designation of land from private use to public use, as happened in Metro plans that took privately owned areas previously designated for residential, commercial, or industrial use and designated them for public purposes such as roads or stations.
Indirect damage generally affects properties outside the boundaries of the plan that suffer from nuisances the plan creates, such as noise, loss of privacy, obstruction of light and air, and similar impacts.
A claim for reduction in value is subject to a time limit and must be submitted within three years from the date the plan takes effect.
Most Metro plans have already been approved, meaning the limitation period is already running, so property owners should watch the deadline closely.
Generally, such a claim is submitted to the local planning and building committee in whose jurisdiction the affected property is located, and the compensation is assessed as of the date the plan was approved.
In the case of the Metro Project, however, the Metro Law provides that the claim should be submitted to the Metro Project Compensation Committee.
Expropriation Compensation Claim
An expropriation compensation claim concerns the proprietary damage caused by the actual taking of the land itself.
The claim is submitted to the public authority that expropriated the property and is assessed according to the value of the land at the time of expropriation. Where applicable, it also covers the value of improvements and structures attached to the land, such as walls, fences, and similar elements.
The claim must be submitted within seven years from the publication of the expropriation notice or the actual taking of possession, whichever is later.
For Metro-related expropriations, it is best not to wait. Pursue the claim promptly, alongside the claim for reduction in value, because the amount and timing of compensation can be significant.
Can the Expropriation Decision Be Cancelled?
Changing the expropriation itself is likely to be difficult, because the relevant plan has already been approved. It may still be possible to obtain minor adjustments, rather than significant changes, to the Metro plan itself. Professional advice should be obtained in such circumstances.
In any event, it is important to examine carefully the expropriation plan attached to the expropriation notice and understand what it means for the specific property.
This matters especially so that when NTA’s team arrives to prepare the handover documentation, the owner can present all relevant claims and requests to reduce the scope of the expropriation and limit its impact, for example where the expropriation affects essential building infrastructure or blocks access to an area not included in the expropriation notice.
The Expropriation Notice Says the Land Is Being Expropriated for a Depot. What Is a Depot, and Is the Law the Same as for Station Areas?
A depot is a railway maintenance and operations complex containing buildings covering thousands of square meters.
The legal framework for expropriating land for stations and for depots is the same. However, a plan being promoted for construction above depot complexes (TAMA 70A) may allow rights holders whose properties fall within the built-up area of a depot to potentially receive their rights back in the future.
This is a precedent-setting mechanism that depends on an amendment to the Metro Law currently before the Knesset for second and third readings. The proposed amendment would let rights holders receive their land back after approval of the plan and completion of depot construction, subject to bearing the planning, development, and depot-covering costs, as well as the betterment levy.
This is a complex mechanism, and its practical implementation remains some distance away.
What Is the Difference Between Expropriation of Buildings and Expropriation of Land?
The main difference concerns the compensation options available to the property owner.
When land is expropriated, the owner will generally receive monetary compensation based on the property’s value at the time the expropriation was published and according to an appraisal.
When a building is expropriated, the owner may choose between monetary compensation and alternative housing, with the expropriating authority required to provide reasonable alternative housing, though not necessarily equivalent housing.
In the case of the Metro Project, it is likely that alternative housing will not be offered and that compensation will be paid in money only.
If three years have passed since the plan was approved and the landowner has not filed a claim for reduction in value, the expropriating authority will not pay compensation for the planning-related reduction in value.
So where a house or building is expropriated, the owners may receive monetary compensation that lets them buy alternative accommodation, but not necessarily enough to put them in the position they were in before the plan was approved and the expropriation was published.
