Israel to build more than 1,000 homes at edge of Jerusalem

Published: 2008-01-09

JERUSALEM (CNS) -- Despite the instructions of the Israeli attorney general, recommendations from previous attorneys general and promises to the United States, the Israeli Housing Ministry is pushing forward with the construction of more than 1,000 residential units at the edge of Jerusalem. The construction in what is known as Har Homa is "creating an urban wedge between the Palestinian neighborhoods of East Jerusalem and the Palestinian neighborhoods of the West Bank, especially Beit Sahour," said Sarah Kreimer, associate director of Ir-Amim, a nongovernmental organization that works for the stability of Jerusalem for Palestinians and Israelis. Ir-Amim has said the issue could threaten the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The Housing Ministry took the land under terms of the absentee landowner law, but most of the landowners live in the West Bank town of Beit Sahour and are unable to reach the land because of the Israeli separation barrier, which Israel says it needs to prevent Palestinian suicide bombings. Israel says Har Homa is part of East Jerusalem as set out in the self-drawn municipal boundaries of Jerusalem in 1968. The Housing Ministry does not consider the area a Jewish settlement but a developing neighborhood.

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