Daily Alert Archives

The End of Building Freezes in the Jerusalem Area

(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Nadav Shragai - There are two strategic building plans for Jerusalem. Givat Hamatos, only 300 meters from the Green Line, will prevent the possibility of a wedge dividing Jerusalem from the south. E-1, between Maaleh Adumim and Jerusalem, will strengthen Israel's east-west contiguity to the Dead Sea and perhaps stymie north-south Palestinian territorial contiguity. In February, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ended the construction freeze on these two neighborhoods. Construction in Givat Hamatos has been frozen for seven years, while E-1 has been frozen for 15 years. Givat Hamatos is one of the last land reserves available for construction in Jerusalem. Increased construction in the nearby Arab neighborhood of Beit Safafa was also approved. E-1 will connect Maaleh Adumim - a city of 48,000 residents east of Jerusalem established 45 years ago - with the Mount Scopus neighborhood of Jerusalem. All Israeli governments, from the time of Yitzhak Rabin to today, have supported this plan. Israel is very concerned about Palestinian attempts to impose a separation between Maaleh Adumim and Jerusalem. The writer, a senior researcher at the Jerusalem Center, has documented Jerusalem for Ha'aretz and Israel Hayom over thirty years.
2020-03-09 00:00:00
Full Article