A Jerusalem municipal planning committee advances 1,465 housing units in East Jerusalem, in an area that left-wing groups say would make establishing a contiguous Palestinian capital in the city far more difficult.
The new neighborhood is being planned for the land between the Jewish neighborhoods of Givat HaMatos and Har Homa, both of which were themselves controversial due to their location.
Left-wing Israeli groups and Palestinians oppose Israeli construction in East Jerusalem, which they hope will one day become the capital of a Palestinian state. Right-wing Israelis, who oppose Palestinian independence, support an “undivided” Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
An engineer surveying land between the East Jerusalem neighborhoods of Har Homa, pictured, and Givat Hamatos in 2012. (photo credit: Abir Sultan/Flash90)
According to Peace Now, the planned units would “conclusively prevent territorial contiguity between East Jerusalem Palestinian neighborhoods and Bethlehem.”
The committee’s approval is merely the first stage in the planning process. The proposal will be formally discussed at the Jerusalem District Planning Committee on January 17, 2022; if it passes there, the plan will go on to the “deposit” stage, at which point it will be far more difficult to suspend.
Another 2,092 housing units are advanced in the Jewish neighborhood of French Hill, which also lies over the Green Line.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, January 5, 2022
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
