Israel approves 625 new housing units in East Jerusalem

[News_Editor]

Israel approves 625 new housing units in East Jerusalem

2010-12-02 06:09:00 GMT+7 (ICT)

JERUSALEM (BNO NEWS) -- Israel on Wednesday approved a plan for constructing 625 new housing units in East Jerusalem despite worldwide criticism on settlement construction in the disputed region.

The plan was initially approved by the Jerusalem District Planning Building Committee in 2008 but was put on hold due to several faults in the program. However, the problems have been solved and the committee approved the project on Wednesday.

The new 625 housing units will be built in the Pisgat Ze'ev neighborhood in East Jerusalem. On November 8, Israel's Interior Ministry announced the construction of 1,300 new housing units in East Jerusalem to expand the Har Homa neighborhood by 978 apartments and to build 320 new apartments in the Ramot neighborhood.

The plan was highly criticized and considered as a step back in the efforts to resume direct peace negotiations with Palestine. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the planning policy has not disrupted the peace process in the last 40 years.

Netanyahu added that in that period, Israel has built many projects in many parts of Jerusalem as the country considers the region not an occupied or disputed territory but as its capital city but it is not internationally recognized as such. Palestine intends to make East Jerusalem its capital city.

U.S. President Barack Obama criticized the Israeli government regarding its Har Homa building plan as he believes that the action will not help the peace negotiations. He also expressed his concern on the lack of effort by both sides, Israel and Palestine, to resume peace talks.

On September 26, the Israeli government lifted its 10-month freeze moratorium on new settlement construction in the disputed West Bank area. In consequence, Palestine halted peace negotiations with Israel and demanded a new moratorium to continue the direct talks.

Israel seized the West Bank territories after the 1967 war, including Gaza and East Jerusalem. Since then, Israel has settled around 500,000 Jews in over 100 settlements in order to expand their presence in the Palestinian neighborhoods in the area. East Jerusalem has long been the target of such efforts as the oldest, historic ruins in the city lie under this area.

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