Minefield Clearance Act, 20111

Chapter A: Goal and Interpretation

Purpose 1. The purpose of this act is to create a normative infrastructure for the clearance of minefields that are not essential to national security, and to declare then as free from landmines with the highest degree of safety to civilians, in accordance with the international obligations of the State of Israel, and within the shortest period of time possible. Definitions 2. In this Act "International Mine Action Standards" rules endorsed from time to time by the UN Inter-Agency Coordination Group for Mine Action; "Interested Party" and "Position Holder" as defined in the the Companies Act of 19992; "National Park" and "Nature Reserve" as defined in the National Parks Act; "The Advisory Committee" - as defined in clause 14; "Supervising Company" - as defined in clause 22; "National Parks Act" - National Parks, Nature Reserves, National Sites and Memorial Sites Act of 19983; "Sea"- Israel's territorial waters, up to a depth of 100 meters; "Antipersonnel Mine" an explosive device contained within a casing and designed to be triggered by the touch of a person; "Antitank Mine" - an explosive device contained within a casing and designed to be triggered by the touch of a vehicle; "The Director" the Director of the Authority appointed according to clause 5; "Operator" - as defined in clause 21; "National Specifications" as defined in clause 4(a)(1); "Budget Clause" and "Field of Activity" as defined in the Annual Budget Law,
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Received at the Knesset on March 14, 2011; the bill proposal and its explanations have been published in the Knesset Bill Proposals 368, on February 7, 2011, p.90. Statute Book 1999, p. 189. Statute Book 1998, p. 202.

as meant in the Budget Foundations Law of 19854; "The Fund" - the mine action fund as defined in clause 10; "The Chief of the General Staff" the Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces or a person he authorized to act in his name; "The Authority" - the Mine Action Authority, established under clause 3; "Minefield" an area containing antipersonnel mines, including such area that also contains antitank mines or unexploded ordnance or an area suspected of containing antipersonnel mines, and all excluding areas where the Chief of the General Staff determined that the presence of mines is essential to national security, and all including areas in the sea; "Unexploded Ordnance" including duds and explosive devices; "Minister" The Minister of Defense.

Chapter B: The Mine Action Authority

Article A: The Roles of the Authority
Establishment of the Authority 3. A Mine Action Authority is hereby established within the Ministry of Defense, and its employees will be employees of the Ministry of Defense. 4. (a) The roles of the Authority are: (1) To formulate national specifications for mine action, taking into consideration the procedures of the Israel Defense Forces, that will be as compatible as possible with the International Mine Action Standards, the national specifications shall include, inter alia, the following: (a) Rules of formulating proposals for multi-year and annual Plans for mine clearance, including provisions regarding operating procedures, the order of clearance and a timetable for clearance; (b) Rules for the approval of Operators and Supervising Companies; (c) Rules regulating the operations of Operators and Supervising Companies, including rules regarding (1) Planning and implementation of minefield clearance; (2) Documentation of minefield clearance, from the planning stage and up to the Supervising Company's authorization that the area is mine-free; (3) Implementing and reporting on expansion of fences with the
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Roles and Powers of the Authority

Statute Book 1985, p. 60.

approval of the Supervising Company; (d) Rules for supervision over the work of Operators and Supervising Companies, including supreme supervision as instructed by the minister; (e) Rules for the insurance of Operators and Supervising Companies against injuries related to mine clearance, and professional liability insurance of Operators against third party claims;

(f) Rules for marking and fencing of minefields during their clearance,
in order to ensure the safety of the public; (g) Rules for documentation of minefields that were cleared according to the provisions of this Act; (h) Rules for minefield clearance in national parks and nature reserves; (i) Rules for clearance of unexploded ordnance within minefields; (2) To contract Operators and Supervising Companies; (3) To supervise the work of Operators and Supervising Companies; (4) To coordinate the operations of Operators with the Israel Defense Forces, and with other state authorities as required; (5) To conduct inspections, reviews, fence repairs and sign repairs in minefields for which a certificate has been issued according to clause 27; (6) To promote, plan and conduct activities to raise public awareness to mine safety, especially of people living in areas near minefields, and to advise the education system about these activities in educational institutions. (b) Rules included in the national specifications according to paragraphs (b), (c)1 and 3, and (f) to (i) in subclause (a)(1), and regulations regarding subclause (a)(5) will be decided also in accordance with the professional guidance of the Chief Engineering Corps Officer in the Israel Defense Forces. (c) The national specifications will be updated periodically; the national specifications and their updates will be published according to the Minister's instructions;

Article B: The Director of the Authority

Appointment of the Director 5. (a) The Minister shall appoint the Director of the Authority; notice of appointment of the Director shall be published in the Official Gazette. (b) The director's term of office shall be five years, and the Minister may extend

Eligibility of the Director

the appointment by additional terms. 6. The director should meet all the following conditions: (1) Be an Israeli citizen and a resident of Israel;

(2) Have a recognized academic degree from an institution of higher

education recognized under clause 9 of the Council for Higher Education Act of 19585; (3) Have a cumulative experience of at least five years in a senior managerial role in the defense establishment or in public service or in a corporation with substantial business volume. Powers of the Director 7. (a) The Director will be responsible for the management of the Authority and for carrying out its roles under this statute.

(b) In order to implement provisions of this Act, the Director is authorized,

together with the accountant of the Ministry of Defense, to represent the government in transactions under clauses 4 and 5 of the State Property Act of 19516, except for real estate transactions, and sign on behalf of the state on documents relating to such transactions. (c) The Director will approve the expenses of the Authority. Expiration of the Director's Term of Service

8. The Director's term of service expires in one of the following ways:

(1) He resigns by delivering a written resignation to the Minister; (2) He can not perform his duties, permanently or for a period exceeding six months; (3) He is convicted of an offense which by its nature, severity or circumstances, renders him unfit to serve as Director of the Authority; (4) The Minister, after consulting the Attorney General and the Civil Service Commissioner, determines that he is not performing his job properly.

Article C: The Budget of the Authority

The Authority's Budget 9. (a) The work of the Authority will be financed by the State Budget; the annual budget of the Authority will be determined in a separate clause in the annual Budget Law, and will not fall short of NIS 27 million a year. (b) Within three months from the end of each fiscal year, the Authority will publish in the web site of the Ministry of Defense a Financial Report, which will include full and accurate details of incomes and expenditures in the year
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Statutes Book 1958, p. 191. Statutes Book 1951, p. 52.

for which the report is submitted.

Chapter C: The Mine Action Fund

10. The Mine Action Fund (a) A Fund for Mine Action is hereby established within the Ministry of Defense; the Fund's board members will be: (1) A Defense Ministry employee, appointed by the Minister, and who will act as the chairperson; (2) A Foreign Ministry employee, appointed by the Minister of Foreign affairs; (3) A Ministry of Finance employee, appointed by the Minister of Finance; (4) A Ministry of Justice employee, appointed by the Minister of Justice; (5) A Negev and Galilee Development Ministry employee, appointed by the Minister of Negev and Galilee Development. (b) The Fund's objectives will be to coordinate financial means, in addition to the Authority's budget as stated in clause 9. (c) The Fund's Board shall decide whether to accept a proposed contribution, according to principles and considerations set by the Minister, and will review the Authority's requests to use these contributions and decide whether to approve them. (d) Operational procedures of the Fund shall be set in regulations with the consent of the Minister of Justice.

11. The Fund's Budget (a) (1) Contributions will be the source of the Fund's budget, which will constitute an addition to the budget of the Authority as stated in clause 9. (2) The Minister shall report to the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, at the end of each budget year, on the Fund's operations, incomes and expenditures. (b) Remaining capital in the field of activity of the budget of the Fund in a certain fiscal year shall be permitted to be reallocated to the same field of activity in the following fiscal year by the Minister of Finance, who will inform the Finance Committee of the Knesset on this reallocation; once such a permission is granted, the remaining funds shall be added to the following fiscal year's budget as an integral part of it. (c) Remaining funds in the field of activity of the Fund's budget, after the

completion of clearance of all minefields, shall be reallocated to mine victim assistance, as instructed by the General Director of the National Insurance Institute. 12. (a) Contributions received by the Authority shall be utilized in accordance with the annual and multi-year plans. (b) A contribution may be also given in the form of funding operation of a certain Operator; the Fund may approve such a contribution as long as the all the following conditions are met: (1) The Authority approves the Operator according to clause 4(a)1(b); (2) The contribution is not designated for the clearance of a specific minefield; (3) The contribution shall be used for minefield clearance in accordance with the annual plan; (4) The cost of the clearance of the minefield, designated according to paragraph (3), shall be fully covered by the contribution; (5) The Advisory Committee authorizes use of the contribution. (c) Notwithstanding subclause (a), a contribution designated for the clearance of a certain minefield that is not included in the annual plan, may be approved by the Fund and may be used by the Authority for the clearance of that minefield, as the long as the following conditions have been met: (1) The clearance of this certain minefield would not hinder the clearance of other minefields designated in accordance with the annual plan. (2) The contribution meets the standards set by the Minister regarding the proportion of the contribution out of the total cost of clearance, taking into account, inter alia, the extent of the change in priorities according to the multi-year plan. (3) The Advisory Committee is convinced that special public interests justify the clearance of this certain minefield in addition to the minefields designated for clearance according to the annual plan. (d) Decisions according to this clause shall be published on the website of the Ministry of Defense. 13. Financial Reports (a) Within three months from the end of each fiscal year, the Fund shall publish on the website of the Ministry of Defense a financial report detailing each contribution along with its source, its designation, its value and, in case of an

Instructions Regarding Utilization of Contributions

in-kind contribution, its description. (b) The Minister shall report to the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, at the end of each fiscal year, on the Fund's operations, incomes and expenditures.

Chapter D: The Advisory Committee

14. The Advisory Committee (a) An Advisory Committee is hereby established, and its members are:

(1) A Defense Ministry employee who is not an employee of the Authority,

appointed by the Minister, and who will act as the chairperson; (2) An Environmental Protection Ministry employee, appointed by the Minister of Environmental Protection; (3) A Tourism Ministry employee, appointed by the Minister of Tourism; (4) A Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development employee, appointed by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development; (5) A Foreign Ministry employee, appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs; (6) A Negev and Galilee Development Ministry employee, appointed by the Minister of Negev and Galilee Development; (7) A representative of the Center of Regional Councils in Israel, appointed by the Chairman of the Center of Regional Councils in Israel; (8) A representative of the Israel Lands Authority appointed by the Israel Lands Authority Director;

(9) A representative of mine survivors, chosen by the Minister out of a list

of candidates suggested by the General Manager of the National Insurance Institute. (b) A member of the Advisory Committee shall not be a Fund board member. 15. The roles of the Advising Committee are: The Roles of the Advisory Committee (1) To submit to the Minister its opinion regarding the Authority's multiyear plan, no later than 60 days after the Authority submits a proposal to such a plan under clause 18 (a). (2) To submit to the Minister its opinion regarding the Authority's annual plan, no late than 45 days after the Authority submits a proposal to such a plan under clause 18 (b); (3) To inspect and monitor the implementation of the Authority's multi-year plan and annual plans.

Expiration of Term of Service

16. An Advisory Committee member who is absent from three consecutive committee meetings shall cease to be a member of the committee, unless the absence is due to illness or to service in the Israel Defense Forces. 17. The Advisory Committee shall determine its own working procedures.

Working Procedures

Chapter E: Minefield Clearance

Article A: Clearance Plans and Coordination with Other Entities
Approval of Minefield Clearance Plans

18. (a) Within one year of publication of this Act, the Authority will submit a proposal to the Minister and the Advising Committee for a multi-year minefield clearance plan, and within two years of the publication of this Act a proposal for a multi-year plan for clearance of minefields in the sea. (b) The Authority shall submit a proposal for an annual plan for minefield clearance to the Minister and the Advising Committee, not later than ninety days before the beginning of each fiscal year. (c) The Minister may approve multi-year or annual plan proposals, and he may order the Authority to change them according to his instructions; the Minister's decision will be given after examining the opinion of the Advising Committee regarding the plan, submitted to him under clause 15. (d) The Minister shall present the approved plans under sub-clause (c) to the Government.

Cooperation between the the Authority and the Israel Defense Forces

19. (a) The Israel Defense Forces shall submit to the Authority a list of minefields, and shall submit updates to that list at least once a year. (b) The Israel Defense Forces will submit all data it has regarding the minefields, including types of mines, line markings and points of reference. (c) The Authority may request the Israel Defense Forces to submit, within a reasonable time, clarifications regarding the possibility to clear mines from a particular area it wishes to include in its plan. (d) The Israel Defense Forces shall be responsible for reviews, tours, fence repairs, route changes, corrections and changes of minefield signage and

markings until a certificate is issued according to clause 27; including in areas where they determine that the existence of mines is essential for national security.

20. Minefield Clearance within National Parks, Nature Reserves, and Archaeological Sites (a) The provisions of the National Parks Act shall apply to minefield clearance within national parks or a nature reserves, and the Authority shall be seen as a branch of the Defense Establishment approved by the Minister in regards to clause 23 in the aforementioned Act.

(b) The provisions of the Antiquities Act of 19787, shall apply to minefield
clearance within archaeological sites as defined in the aforementioned Act.

Operators 21.

Article B: Operator and Supervising Company

(a) The Authority will select a company that meets the national specifications to engage in clearing minefields. (b) An Operator selected according to this Act will clear mines from the minefield assigned to him, and perform any other duty assigned to him in accordance with this Act and with rules set by the Authority. Supervising Companies 22. (a) The Authority will choose a company that meets the national specifications to provide quality assurance over the activities of operators. (b) A Supervising Company contracted in accordance with this Act will provide quality assurance over operator's actions, and perform any other duty assigned to according to this Act and to rules prescribed by the Authority. 23. (a) The Authority shall not contract an Operator to act as a Supervising Company, and shall not contract a Supervising Company to act as an Operator. (b) An Operator shall not employ a person who had been employed by a Supervising Company less than a year after that person stopped working for the Supervising Company, and a Supervising Company shall not employ a person who had been had been employed by an Operator less than two years after that person stopped working for the Operator.
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Statutes Book 1978, p. 76.

(c) The terms "Operator" and "Supervising Company" in this clause also refer to an interested party and a position holder in each. Conflict of Interest 24. (a) The Authority shall not contract a Supervising Company which is apparently directly or indirectly caught in a conflict of interest, where performing its duties in accordance with this Act conflicts with another duty or another affair of this company, or of an interested party or a position holder in it. (b) The Authority shall not contract an Operator which is apparently caught in a conflict of interest as stated in subclause (a). Contract Suspension or Cancellation 25. The Authority may, at any time, suspend or revoke a contract with an Operator or with a Supervising Company, after allowing them to sound their arguments, if it realizes that one of the following has happened: (1) The contract was made on the basis of false or misleading information; (2) The Operator or the Supervising Company violated a provision of this Act or a condition of the contract; (3) The Operator or the Supervising Company is caught in a conflict of interest as stated in clause 24.

Definitions Article C 26. In this article

Article C: Closed Area and Land Release

"Military commander" - as defined in Defense Regulations (Emergency Regulations) of 19458; "Closure Order", "Closed Area" and "Certificate" - as defined in Regulation 125 of the Defense Regulations (Emergency Regulations) of 1945. 27. A military commander or his representative shall issue a Certificate to the Entry into a Closed Area Authority, the Operator and the Supervising Company to enter the Closed Area in order to perform their duties in accordance with this Act; once such a Certificate is issued, the Authority, the Operator and the Supervising Company may enter a Closed Area even if it is privately owned. Minefield Clearance 28. (a) Upon completion of its operations in a minefield, the Operator shall notify the Authority and the Supervising Company in writing that the area is free of mines.
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(b) A Supervising shall examine the minefield assigned to the Official Gazette 1945, amendment 2, p. (p) 855, Company p. (a) 1055.

shall be revoked. (c) If the Authority or a Supervising Company found that a minefield is not free of mines, the Authority may order the Operator to clear it again. (d) If the Authority instructs an Operator, according subclause (c), to clear a minefield again, the military commander or his representative shall issue a Certificate to the Operator and Supervising Company, and the provisions of clause 27 as well as subclauses (a) to (c) shall apply. 29. If a contract with an Operator or with a Supervising Company has been suspended or revoked in accordance with clause 25, the Certificate issued to them shall be revoked. 30. Release of Closed Area by a Military Commander (a) The Authority shall contact the military commander in order to cancel the closure order for a certain area due to the existence of mines within it, after acting according to supervision rules described in clause 4(a)1(d) and after the Operator and the Supervising Company have declared in writing that they have acted according to the National Specifications and that the area is free of mines. (b) Once the Authority contacts the military commander as stated in subclause (a), he will cancel the closure order, as long as he verifies the existence of written statements from the Operator, the Supervising Company and the Authority that state that the area is free of mines. (c) After canceling the closure order as stated in subclause (b), the military commander or his representative shall remove the surrounding fence.

Cancellation of a Certificate

Chapter F: Liability
Limited Liability 31. A soldier or an employee of the Ministry of Defense, who acted in order to remove the closure order in accordance with clause 30, shall be seen as acting with a reasonable level of caution and care, and will not be seen as being negligent in performing his duties.

Chapter F: Reporting and Implementation

Reporting 32. (a) At the end of each year, the Authority shall submit to the Minister and to the Advisory Committee a report on the implementation of the annual plan of

the year for which the report is submitted. (b) The Minister shall submit to the government and to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, no later than March 31 each year, a report on the implementation of the Authority's annual plan and budget, and will report to the Committee on any other matter relating to its activities, at the committee's request; this report shall be published on the website of the Ministry of Defense. 33. (a) The Minister is in charge of the implementation of this Act and may, under the approval of the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, set regulations for its implementation (b) Regulations according to this Act shall be brought to the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee for approval no later than four months from the day this Act enters into force. Appointment of the Employees of the Authority Clearance of First Minefield 34. The employees of the Authority shall be appointed no later than sixty days from the day this Act enters into force. 35. The Authority shall contract an Operator and a Supervising Company in order to clear the first minefield in accordance with the National Specifications, rules and operating procedures it has prescribed, within six months from the day this Act enters into force. Amendment to the Administrative Court Act [no. 54]

Implementation and Regulations

36. In the Administrative Court Act of 20009, in the first amendment, at the end of it
shall be written: 38. A decision of an authority according to the Minefield Clearance Act of 201110, except for a decision according to clauses 4(a)1, 18(c), 19, and 27 to 30 to the

Signatories:

aforementioned Act.

Binyamin Netanyahu, The Prime Minister

Ehud Barak The Minister of Defense

Shimon Peres The President

Reuven Rivlin The Knesset Speaker

9 10

Statute Book 2000, p. 190; 2011, p. 380. Statute Book 2011, p. .