The Knesset passed the Urban Union - Lake Kinneret bill Tuesday, ordering the Sea of Galilee and its surroundings be included in the coastline environmental protection act.

Lake Kinneret beaches will now enjoy the same protection given to the Mediterranean and Red Sea coastlines, which are monitored by the Ministry of Interior's Coastline Protection Commission.

Under the new bill, brought by Knesset Members Dov Khenin (Hadash) and Ophir Pines-Paz (Labor-Meimad), a new urban authority will be formed and will be put in charge of all aspects of the Lake Kinneret coastline, including upholding free access to the beach and enforcing environmental laws.

The new bill also called for any construction 330 yards or less than the water line to be pre-approved by a special urban planning commission.

The bill's most notable achievement is undoubtedly the forming of the new authority, which is said to revolutionize the public's right to access the Kinneret - a right never before protected by law.

The new authority will include 12 members representing the government, the public and the Jordan Valley, Golan and Tiberias local authorities.

The authority's first mission will be to prepare a perennial work plan utilizing the newly approved NIS 10 million (about $2.8 million) allocated to the bill.

Giving Lake Kinneret back to the public

MK Paz-Pines, who heads the Knesset's Internal Affairs and Environment Committee told Ynet he was pleased the bill passed it's second and third readings: "We're finally beginning to put the Kinneret coasts in order... the running of the beachfront is scattered between too many bodies, which has resulted in a failure to protect it; in illegal fencing of the beaches, in rundown infrastructure and in the public being charged an admission fee unlawfully."

MK Khenin, who heads the Knesset environmental lobby, was pleased as well, saying "the new bill will protect one of Israel's most unique places and will give it back to the people."

Various environmental groups welcomed the new bill and expressed their hope that the planned urban authority will be formed sooner, rather than later.

The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI), however, noted that the bill will not be able to materialize its goals "without a strong, independent body, which will be able to resist the pressures of certain parties of interest in the area, heading it."

"This is an exciting day both for Lake Kinneret and for the Israeli public," said Moshe Perlmutter of the SPNI's coastline division. "We can only hope that all those involved will join together in an effort to help the new authority rise up to the formidable tasks at hand."