Just a short time ago the Israel Lands Administration committee that determines which bids win the tenders to develop land auctioned off by the government published the results for the city of Charish.
A group of 12 Chareidi non-profit buyers' groups were disqualified because they were illegally organized under one (for profit) company. That left one Chareidi non-profit that won two plots for 291 apartments. It seems that the winners of the biggest plots were therefore a bit surprised to learn that they had indeed won. Also, the disqualification left 4 plots for 319 apartments without a winning bidder.
The committee decision comes after a lawsuit was filed by some of the other buyers' groups against the Chareidi bloc alleging illegal coordination of bids and anti-competitive behavior. The Chareidi groups were being led by a number of ex-politicians.
According to a person interviewed in one article, Chareidim will probably still own 1 out of every 5 apartments in Charish.
Personally, I think that while the city might be end up being more mixed than the Chareidim had hoped for, they will eventually find a way to buy some of the land for a reduced price. I'm not sure how, but that's the way things seem to happen.
Here is a link to the Hebrew article about this.
According to this article if the Chareidi groups appeal the decision, they may incite the Land Administration to bring criminal charges, something they have not decided to do yet.
Here is the list of the results of the Charish tender from the press release.
And here is an English article
