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Jerusalem's Dilemma

(Jerusalem Post) * Israel's urban planners have tended to stress short-term considerations at the expense of long-term environmental and historical treasures. Now, Jerusalem is faced with a decision: whether to expand the capital's limits westward toward the forest and the suburbs of Mevessaret Zion or eastward, over the "green line," toward the settlement city of Ma'ale Adumim. * The Safdie Plan - to expand Jerusalem westwards - would deface a uniquely breathtaking landscape, the capital's beautiful landmark gateway. It calls for constructing 20,000 housing units on about 26,000 dunams of woodland. * The principal alternative to the city's westward expansion is the expansion of Jerusalem eastwards, according to the popularly dubbed E1 Plan. This plan would link the capital with Ma'ale Adumim and secure one of the country's key settlement blocs, a community of 32,000 souls. Solidifying such major settlements under Israeli control is widely supported by the Israeli public. * While the American government formally opposes all settlement construction, it was President George Bush who said: "It is unrealistic to expect that the outcome of final status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the 1949 armistice lines." * American and EU pressure has to date dissuaded a succession of Israeli governments, including that of Prime Minister Sharon, from going ahead with linking Jerusalem to Ma'ale Adumim. * Opponents of E1 argue that it would torpedo prospects for a viable Palestinian state by making it impossible for Palestinians to travel from Bethlehem to Ramallah. But surely a solution that allows Palestinians a north-south transit, while linking nearby Ma'ale Adumim to Jerusalem, is hardly beyond the creative capabilities of diplomats and transportation planners.
2005-12-28 00:00:00
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