Tiberias Mega-Project Lands in Court as Landowners Seek NIS 20.5 Million from Av-Gad
Av-Gad’s planned large-scale project in Tiberias has ended up in court, with the landowners now seeking NIS 20.5 million in damages and asking the court to let them move ahead without the developer. The dispute centers on a project Av-Gad had promoted as a major mixed-use development near Tiberias, with hundreds of hotel rooms, a performance center, retail space and 400 luxury apartments.
When the deal was announced in early 2023, Av-Gad said the first phase alone could generate annual revenue of NIS 132 million starting in the third year of operations, with EBITDA of NIS 85 million. The company is controlled by Michael Ratzon, who holds 50.5% and serves as chairman, and his son Raam Ratzon, the chief executive. Av-Gad said the project would be “a project unlike anything seen before” and a mix of “elegance, functionality, entrepreneurship and Zionism.”
The plaintiffs, led by former Tiberias mayor Oved Zohar, allege that Av-Gad began breaching the agreement soon after signing and failed to advance the project. They say those breaches led them to cancel the deal in February and file suit. They also claim Av-Gad registered warning notes on the land and will not remove them, blocking any attempt to continue the project without it.
According to the complaint, Av-Gad promised financial strength and resources but never provided a NIS 60 million loan it had committed to supply, intended to replace existing borrowings. The landowners also say the company failed to cover interest costs they incurred because of delays in securing new financing, and they accuse it of additional delays and attempts to create “a fictitious ownership” of the land. Av-Gad first informed investors in November 2025 that tensions had emerged after receiving a letter from the landowners alleging a clerical error in a joint-venture appendix and claiming the revenue split was unfavorable to them. Av-Gad rejected that claim. The parties then tried, unsuccessfully, to settle the dispute. Av-Gad says the agreement remains in force and that the landowners are the ones violating the contracts and the law.
