State freezes plan to build police station on beloved Jerusalem hill
Responding to petition by locals opposed to building station on site known for springtime carpets of blue lupines, authorities tell court they’re reviewing alternative locations
Sue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter
Authorities said Monday that they would be freezing a plan to build a large police station on a pastoral Jerusalem hill popular with locals.
The project for a hilltop between the Jewish Armon Hanatziv neighborhood and the Palestinian neighborhood of Jabal Mukaber was initially approved in March by the Jerusalem District Planning Committee, despite a long-running campaign by local residents, who petitioned the Jerusalem District Court to block the authorization.
The state issued its response to the petition on Monday, informing the court that it would be freezing the plan.
The new police station would replace the one currently operating out of a facility on an adjacent hilltop in the eastern part of the capital, which was purchased by supermarket chain owner Rami Levy who plans to build a new neighborhood there.
The State Attorney’s Office told the court in its response that it was examining the possibility of building a new police station in Levy’s planned neighborhood.
Designed to serve both regular police and Border Police who focus on fighting terror, the new complex is supposed to include offices, living quarters, a parade ground, detention cells, a 30-meter (98-foot) high antenna, high-voltage electric lines, weapons storage, and perimeter fence with lighting and security cameras.
The state’s about-face came after activists collected signatures on a petition against the state’s preferred location for the police station, which pointed out the site attracts thousands of visitors during the lupine blooming period and serves as a green backyard all year round.
Locals call the hill Mitzpeh-Tel — a play on the Hebrew words for lookout and hill, which when put together make up the Israeli term for fruit punch.
Known for its panoramic views and springtime carpets of blue lupines, Mitzpeh-Tel enables people of all ages to take part in outdoor activities, defenders of maintaining the site note.
The importance of preserving the open space only increased in light of plans to build thousands of additional housing units in the immediate vicinity, they add.
