A park will be built on plots near Rishon Lezion that were sold with the promise “for future development.”

The area, municipally owned by the two cities, is largely privately owned and in recent years sites have been sold to investors with the potential to change their status to residential development.

According to the approved plan, only 650 dunams, 15% of the territory, will be allocated for construction, and the specific volume of development and the exact number of residential units will be determined within the framework of detailed plans for each city.

85% of the area will remain open space, including the Givat HaIrusim Nature Reserve and a landscape corridor between the mountainous area in the east and the Palmachim Nature Reserve in the west.

The plan provides for the creation of a large recreational hub for residents of the Central region: leisure and recreation areas, walking and cycling routes, picnic areas and other recreational facilities.

More than 50 objections were lodged to the plan, mostly from private landowners. An investigator was appointed to review the objections and recommended that most of them be rejected and the plan approved.