Israel Approves New E. Jerusalem Housing Units For Arabs

The Jerusalem Municipality's planning and building committee has approved construction of 2,200 housing units for Arabs in occupied East Jerusalem, local media reported Tuesday.



Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth said the new units would be built on 1,500 dunums of land between the East Jerusalem neighborhoods of Jabl al-Mukaber and Abu Dis.



Hundreds of Arab homes in the area that are not currently recognized by the Israeli authorities will be retroactively approved, the paper reported.



Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East War. It annexed the city in 1980, claiming it as the unified capital of the self-proclaimed Jewish state – a move never recognized by the international community.



Some 200,000 Israeli settlers currently live in a number of Jewish-only settlements in occupied East Jerusalem, according to Palestinian figures.



International law considers the West Bank and East Jerusalem "occupied territories," deeming any construction of Jewish settlements on the land illegal.



Palestinian negotiators insist that Israeli settlement construction must end before stalled peace talks – which broke down last year – can resume.



www.aa.com.tr/en - İsrail