«Israel» Again Promoting East Al-Quds Settlements
Local Editor
After a long freeze, the "Israeli" entity plans to expand its Jewish neighborhoods in East al-Quds [Jerusalem] and build settlement units in an Arab neighborhood of the capital - where five Palestinian families would be evicted - will come before the al-Quds District Planning Commission in the next two weeks.
The plans expected to be approved include 2,000 units in large "Israeli" neighborhoods and four plans for "Israeli" settlements in Sheikh Jarrah, two of which would involve removing Palestinians who live there.
During the two terms of US President Barack Obama and especially during the past six years, there was a marked slowdown in construction for Jews beyond the "Green Line" in al-Quds. Diplomatically sensitive plans were repeatedly delayed by orders from above or removed from the planning committees' agenda with no explanation.
Once Donald Trump entered the White House, and especially after his visit to the "Israeli" entity in May, right-wing politicians began to declare that the freeze on construction in East al-Quds was over. It seems now as if the obstacles had indeed been removed and the planning committees will approve a long list of plans for neighborhoods in the capital over the "Green Line".
The most controversial ones are the four plans to building settler units for "Israelis" in Sheikh Jarrah, just north of the Old City. The neighborhood was in the news seven years ago when a number of Palestinian families were removed from their homes so that "Israelis" could move in. Those evacuations generated heated public protest.
Nevertheless, right-wing groups and businessmen affiliated with the right continued to advance evacuation-and-construction plans for the area. Among the plans to be discussed by the al-Quds [Jerusalem] District Planning Commission is one to evict one family to build a building with three apartments on three floors, and another plan that would require the eviction of four Palestinian families to build a five-story building with 10 apartments.
The planning commission is also expected to approve several plans to expand "Israeli" neighborhoods over the "Green Line" that have been held up by the construction freeze. Due to come up this week is a plan for 944 apartments in "Pisgat Zeev". Other plans for 800 units in "Gilo", 200 apartments in "Ramot", 214 units in "Neveh Yaakov" and another 116 units in "Pisgat Zeev", will be debated in two weeks.
"The construction of two settlements in the heart of a Palestinian neighborhood in 'Jerusalem' [al-Quds], alongside the advancing of plans for nearly 2,000 homes across the 'Green Line', are more proof of the blatant efforts by the government to destroy any chance of a diplomatic solution," said Lior Amihai, head of the settlement-oversight team at Peace Now. "Especially grave is the fact that establishing the settlements in the heart of Sheikh Jarrah will cause the removal of five Palestinian families that lived in their homes for decades as protected tenants. There's no limit to the cynicism and shame."
Aviv Tatarsky, a researcher for the left-wing Ir Amim association, said that 2,000 units "across the ‘Green Line' are 2,000 unilateral moves."
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
