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Approval of New Housing in Jerusalem Will Have No Impact on Israeli-Palestinian Peace
(JNS.org) Alex Traiman - The Israeli government's plans to build new apartments in Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem will not hinder Israel's ability to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, residents, experts and government officials say. Veteran Israeli journalist Nadav Shragai, a senior researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, contended that the new housing units are in already-large, well-established Jewish neighborhoods. "Building these apartments has no impact on the possibilities for a Palestinian state....Over 220,000 Jews live in what is known as east Jerusalem, compared to 340,000 Arabs." "What is referred to as east Jerusalem is not only the eastern sections of the city. It is north, south and east; anything that is over the Green Line," Shragai said. "There is a deficit of apartments in the entire city. Jews who live in Jerusalem, in west and east, need more apartments."