The friction between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Finance Yuval Steinitz is continuing. The land and real estate reform plan presented by Netanyahu and Minister of Housing and Construction Ariel Atias yesterday had previously been rejected by Steinitz, but was passed despite his opposition.
Israeli daily "Maariv" reported this morning that during a meeting last Friday, Steinitz told Netanyahu of his opposition to the plan, but that did not prevent the plan from moving ahead.
The Ministry of Finance's Budget Department recommended not implementing the plan. According to the department, the plan, which will cost NIS 800 million, will harm the state coffers while not solving the housing market's problems. Steinitz probably adopted this stand initially but ultimately agreed to approve the plan through lack of choice.
A senior Likud cabinet minister claims that the reason for the friction between Netanyahu and Steinitz is that the job of Minister of Finance is "too big for Steinitz." The minister said, "It is reminiscent of Amir Peretz who became Minister of Defense and fell flat on his face."

A week and a half ago, the denizens of the tent city on Tel Aviv's Rothschild Boulevard sent a message to the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem. Evidently, it never arrived.
The press conference that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held yesterday shows he's still a prisoner of his old notions. Even if the solutions he listed at this umpteenth press conference actually are implemented, it will be long after the last of today's university students graduate. As for the young (and other ) families protesting in tents, not only are his solutions too far off, they also are too vague.
The government has a big problem on its hands, as demonstrated by the incessant press conferences of late. These press conferences follow so closely on the heels of one another that they have come to seem like one big blur - one never-ending event.
But the public doesn't want words. It wants action. The speakers at these press conferences speak vaguely about the future, about solutions that might or might not materialize years into the future - but the distress is here and now.
No wonder protesters rage at the talk of reforming the Israel Lands Administration, and about amending the Planning and Construction Law. These steps would take a decade or more to affect the market.
Yes, these are changes that will take a very long time to take shape. But some aspects of these changes can be isolated and implemented very quickly.
For instance, there is the issue of building permits: At present, obtaining a building permit takes at least a year. The proposed reforms would shorten that to a number of months.
Almost unbelievably, the Association of Contractors and Builders in Israel joined forces with green and "social" organizations in a joint call for the prime minister to fast-track this aspect of the reform. The faster building permits can be obtained, the quicker construction can start on thousands of dwellings currently stuck in the planning process.

Construction Contracts entered into on or after 1 October this year will be required to comply with a new set of payment rules and procedures, and adjudications under those contracts will be subject to new statutory provisions.
It is very likely that you will need to review your internal procedures and update your standard notices and contract terms. JCT are issuing a 2011 suite of documents. No doubt the providers of other standard forms will follow suit.