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Source: http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=170463
Exception to Freeze Approved for Infrastructure, Safety Reasons
(Jerusalem Post) Tovah Lazaroff - Beitar Illit is the third-largest Jewish city in the West Bank, with a population of 36,000. Israel has assumed that it will retain Beitar Illit in any final status-agreement with the Palestinians. On Monday, the Defense Ministry explained that initial approval for the 112 apartment units had been granted by former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as part of a larger project of close to 300 units. Contractors had received all the permits necessary for the units and had laid the foundations for all but 112 units when the moratorium was announced. A source explained that it was impossible to lay infrastructure for the larger project without construction of these 112 units. In addition, the site, as it is now, posed a safety hazard to people in the area.