Psychiatric Hospitals to Be Moved, Freeing Land for 3,500 Homes

Psychiatric hospitals will be relocated to make way for new inpatient complexes, while freeing land for residential construction. The Health and Housing ministries, headed by Minister Haim Katz, signed an agreement today, Wednesday, with the Finance Ministry and the Israel Land Authority (ILA) to transfer the operations of the Mazor Hospital in Acre and Merhavim in Be'er Ya'akov to general medical centers in northern and central Israel. The move will allow the construction of about 3,500 new housing units. As part of the agreement, the Health Ministry will receive about 2 billion shekels for planning, construction and the establishment of new inpatient infrastructure in mental health, as part of the ministry's policy of strengthening the field and integrating it into the general hospital system. Mazor Hospital in Acre will be moved to the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya and the North Medical Center in Poriya near Tiberias, while Merhavim Hospital, in Be'er Ya'akov and Ness Ziona, will be moved to Shamir Medical Center, Assaf Harofeh, in Be'er Ya'akov.

The agreement allows the planning and construction process for the new complexes to begin. The transfer of patients and staff will take place after construction is completed and the new facilities are prepared, while maintaining continuity of care. According to the plan, building the new complexes is expected to take about five years. After they are completed, the hospitals' operations will be transferred to the new locations, and the vacated land will be used to advance development and housing plans.

The agreement also regulates the return of the land to the management of the Israel Land Authority for planning and remarketing. On the vacated plots, which are expected to be cleared in about five years from the signing of the agreement, thousands of housing units and commercial areas are expected to be built. In Be'er Ya'akov, about 1,450 housing units are planned, along with commercial and employment space, and in Acre, about 2,000 housing units are planned, along with assisted living, hotels, commerce and industry.

"Proper and efficient use of state land"

Minister Katz said, "This is a strategic move through which we are carrying out two main tasks, improving service for mental health patients and increasing the supply of housing in high-demand areas. The agreement reflects optimal resource management. Instead of investing in the maintenance and expansion of outdated facilities, we will use the value of the land and market 3,500 housing units, which will finance the establishment of advanced health infrastructure."

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said, "Mental health is a critical component of our national resilience, and as a state we are committed to providing patients with the best and most advanced conditions possible. The move we are leading is a double announcement, renewing the psychiatric treatment system and integrating it within the general medical centers as it should be, and on the other hand, creating smart economic efficiency that converts old land into new housing units."

ILA Director General Yehuda Eliyahu added, "The agreement that was signed brings about proper and efficient use of state land, and it is part of the policy led by the ILA in recent years to evacuate IDF bases, airports and various complexes from high-demand areas. This is good news for the health system, and it leads to the release of land for the construction of 3,500 housing units, along with commercial, employment and hotel areas in Be'er Ya'akov and Acre, and provides a solution for young couples and upgrader homeowners."