(Ha'aretz) Aluf Benn - Israel is starting to build the headquarters of the Judea and Samaria police district in the 800-meter-wide Area E-1 joining Jerusalem and Ma'ale Adumim. Sharon wants territorial contiguity between Ma'ale Adumim and Jerusalem. "A police station, like military bases, is not considered to be establishing facts for the final-status agreement, but [is seen as] a security facility that can be moved," a source from Sharon's bureau said. Senior Bush administration officials told their Israeli counterparts to set aside a plan to build 3,500 housing units in the area. Sources in Sharon's bureau sharply rejected allegations that construction in E-1 would damage a future agreement with the Palestinians. They said most of the plan for the area was for a park and industrial zone that would include Palestinian factories. Sources said a section of the road has recently been opened to allow Palestinians freedom of movement from the Ramallah area to Abu Dis, without a need to go around Ma'ale Adumim or pass through checkpoints.
2005-08-25 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive