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176 new housing units: Eastern Jerusalem Jewish community set to become largest in Arab neighborhood

With the expansion, Nof Zion is expected to surpass Ma’ale Zeitim as the largest Jewish community nestled in an Arab neighborhood.

By World Israel News Staff

Construction on 176 housing units in the Jewish neighborhood of Nof Zion in eastern Jerusalem has begun, reports Haaretz.

The 96 residents that live in Nof Zion are surrounded by hundreds of Palestinians that live in the surrounding neighborhood of Jabal Mukkaber.

The neighborhood was established in the early 2000s by Israeli businessman Rami Levy.

In 2017, the Jerusalem Planning and Building Committee approved a proposal to expand the community.

In an attempt to stop the plans, Palestinian businessman Bashar al-Masri tried to buy up the land zoned for expansion but was thwarted by Levi, Australian businessman Kevin Bermeister, and Jerusalem councilman Arieh King.

“As the person who blocked the attempt by Bashar al-Masri to buy the land of Nof Zion, I am very happy that this most significant project in terms of the greatest extent of construction and number of apartments around the Old City, is moving forward,” King said.

King also told Haaretz that he is currently working on getting an additional 300 housing units approved.

“Nof Zion is to be the largest and most central neighborhood around the Old City and with God’s help in the coming years, other significant neighborhoods will join it like Kidmat Zion, Beit Hanina, Beit Tsafafa and others,” King said.

With the expansion, Nof Zion is expected to surpass Ma’ale Zeitim as the largest Jewish community nestled in a Palestinian neighborhood. Ma’ale Zeitim, located adjacent to the Mount of Olives, holds 106 Jewish families.

Living in a Jewish community surrounded by Palestinians does not come without risk.

In May, Arab teens shot firecrackers at Jewish children at a preschool and an elementary school bus in Ma’ale Zeitim. The children targeted by the Arab teens fled the scene and managed to avoid injury. When Israeli security guards approached the teens, the attackers shot several firecrackers at the guards before fleeing.