Israeli Plans to Build an Additional 12,000 Colonial Housing Units in Jerusalem

Violation: Plans to enlarge Israeli colonies in Jerusalem on the expense of Palestinian lands.

Date: Plans announced at the end of September, 2010.

Location: Different parts of East Jerusalem.

Violator: Israeli colonists and the Israeli Ministry of Housing.

 

Unlike other colonies in the rest of the West Bank, colonies in East Jerusalem were exempted from the so-called “freeze” in colonial activities in accordance with the decision of the Israeli Prime Minister declared on the 25^th of November, 2009. On the contrary, colonial activities in East Jerusalem Israeli colonies have continued at a feverish rate in at least 11 such colonies; in the colony of Giva’at Ze’ev the building of a new neighborhood consisting of 76 colonial housing units for orthodox Jews has been on-going.

 

In terms of the colony of Ma’ale Adumim, its municipality is aiming to start the construction of additional colonial units in a number of locations in accordance with the E1 Plan. For example, a new entertainment city is being planned to be built soon on an area of 800 dunums. The city will contain a park, a manmade lake, sport facilities, hotels in addition to the building of a new colonial neighborhood named Misfarat Adumim that has more than 3,000 colonial housing units. This new neighborhood will function as a wedge separating between East Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley. The colony is also planning to include the colony of Qidar within its municipal boundaries and to build in the area between the two colonies after evicting the Palestinian Bedouins living there. In addition, building in the colony of Har Homa has never ceased for the past few years.

 

  

Pictures 1+2+3: The ever-expanding colony of Har Homa which was
built on Jabal Abu Ghneim in Bethlehem Governorate.

 

According to the weekly Israeli newspaper “Yer Shaliam” edition of September 30^th, 2010, there are plans to build an additional 12,000 colonial housing units in 8 Israeli colonies in East Jerusalem. The following table lists the on-going and planned building plans in East Jerusalem:

No.	Location	Israeli Colony	No. of Housing Units	Current Status	Notes
1	Shu’fat	Shu’fat Hill – Ramat Shlomo	1600	Approved
2	Beit Hania, Ar Ram, Hizma, Shu’fat	Meir Forest – Neve Yacov.	400	Approved	The project calls for the development of the said forest to commemorate the Holocaust. The project was very controversial that the number of units was reduced to 400
3	Shu’fat	Kantri Ramout	700	Approved	The Units will be marketed soon.
4	Bethlehem, Sur Baher, Beit Sahur, Beit Safafa	Har Homa	1900	In process	Building did not stop in the past few years. An additional 1,000 colonial units are planned to be built in Har Homa B and 900 units in Har Homa A.
5	Beit Safafa	Giva’at HaMtous	3150	In process	The project continued for many years without being certified by the relevant Israeli authorities due to the presence of Palestinian landowners in the area.
6	Jabal Al Mukabber	The Palace of the Higher Commissioner (a.k.a. Armon Hantseiv).	450	Under construction	The land located near El Yaho Street has been leveled in an attempt to include it into the nearby neighborhood of Arman Hantseiv which surpassed the initial construction phase.
7	Jabal Al Mukabber	Ramat Raheil	850	In process of being authorized	Unzoned lands. The land was classified as “agricultural lands.” Yet, it was re-classified in order to be used for the enlargement of the nearby colonial neighborhood of Talpiot. The project will be marketed in the upcoming few months.
8	Beit Safafa, Bethlehem, Al Walajeh	Gilo	3000	In process of zoning	A Master Plan is in place. No objections were made.
TOTAL			12,050

 

Note: The colonies of Gilo, Har Hmo A and B are all built on lands of Bethlehem Governorate annexed into Jerusalem boundaries as set by the Israeli occupation authorities in 1970.