Netanyahu approves thousands of Jewish housing units in eastern Jerusalem

In the past, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refrained from expanding these neighborhoods because of international pressure opposing Israeli expansion in eastern Jerusalem.

By Aaron Sull, World Israel News

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Thursday that he has approved thousands of building permits for two Israeli neighborhoods in eastern Jerusalem.

According to Netanyahu, Har Homa will receive 2,200 new housing units and Givat Hamatos will receive 4,000.

There are approximately 40,000 Israelis living in Har Homa, and the new housing units are expected to make room for roughly 10,000 more.

In the past, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refrained from expanding these neighborhoods because of international pressure opposing Israeli expansion in eastern Jerusalem.

“I established Har Homa when I was first prime minister in 1997, against the wishes of the entire world, and I am happy to see it expand,” Netanyahu said. “For years, governments opposed building there and in Givat Hamatos, and now we are building there.”

Under the plan 1,000 housing units will be built for Arab residents in the vicinity.

“Coexistence in peace in Jerusalem, a connected and built Jerusalem, we are connecting all the parts of the united Jerusalem, I removed the limits and here Jerusalem is built below us. They talk-We do,” Netanyahu said.

As expected, the decision was both applauded and criticized by all sides.

“This is big news for the city and especially for young families,” said Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon. “I’m proud that we reached this time of putting another stone of Zion, on the way to building Jerusalem.”

Peace Now, a pro-Palestinian group NGO, called the move “clear proof” that Netanyahu is trying to undermine a two-state solution.

“The planned neighborhood places a wedge in the heart of the Palestinian urban sprawl that exists between Ramallah and eastern Jerusalem, and as such prevents the establishment of a Palestinian state with its capital in east Jerusalem,” said the extreme leftist organization in a statement.

“Netanyahu is leading Israel to the reality of a binational apartheid state and is putting the Zionist enterprise in jeopardy,” the statement added.

Givat HamatosHar Homa