Building safety / Hazardous PalKal is still in use

While the public security minister is promising to implement the Zeiler commission's conclusions regarding the Parinyan affair, State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss has found grave failures in how the findings of the last Zeiler commission were handled.

The first commission headed by Judge Vardi Zeiler examined the safety of public buildings throughout the country. It was established in the wake of the 2001 Versailles wedding hall disaster, in which 23 people were killed and 380 were injured when the Jerusalem hall collapsed.

In August 2002, the committee published its interim conclusions, determining that all buildings containing PalKal - the construction method responsible for the Versailles disaster - must be examined, and repared if necessary. In December 2003, the committee published its final report, which recommended systemic changes in the building industry.

The comptroller determined that the government ministries and the local authorities have not implemented the commission's recommendations or government decisions on the matter. Thus, for example, a professional team established to implement the report recommendations was active on and off for about a year, and then disbanded after the government did not enable it to act or prepare for potential lawsuits against it.

In this matter, Lindenstrauss reprimanded Accountant General Yaron Zelekha for having acted contrary to the government's decision. In addition, the interior and justice ministries have delayed the formulation of a PalKal law to handle the issue.

While the team was active, 546 PalKal buildings in need of attention were located, but only 65 of them have been fixed or demolished. In addition, 467 buildings have not yet been inspected. The cities containing the most PalKal buildings are Eilat (24), Holon (15), Bnei Brak (15) and Haifa (15). About half of the buildings are educational institutions, event halls or other structures that serve a large population.

The local authorities say the government ministries have not told them how to act on the issue, but the state comptroller determined that in light of the great hazard, the local governments should have acted even without instructions from above.

One problem building is a large hospital at a Netanya medical institution. Fixing the building would cost an estimated NIS 10 million, but the finance and health ministries have not reached an agreement on responsibility for establishing a state building inspection authority.

Two months ago, after the State Comptroller's Report was drafted, the government took a decision on implementing some of the Zeiler recommendations.