The municipality of Rishon Lezion has demanded a revision of the national prison development plan TAMA 24, within which one of the new prisons should be built in the Sorek complex, next to the IKEA store, Yediot Ahronot reports.
The TAMA 24 plan, which was originally approved in 1982 and updated in 2020, aims to meet Israel’s detention needs until 2040, and covers an area of about 260 dunams. In September 2025, the National Council approved a detailed plan for the construction of a penitentiary cluster in Rishon Lezion, despite objections raised against it.
According to an external report commissioned by the Rishon Lezion municipality, the value of the land intended for the penitentiary facility is about NIS 2.25 billion excluding VAT. The report highlights that it is possible to build a similar facility in an alternative location in the center of the country at a land cost of about NIS 7 million, on agricultural land owned by the Land Administration.