Israel approved building permits for hundreds of housing units in three East Jerusalem neighborhoods. The housing projects, on land the Palestinians demand as part of their future state under any final status agreement, had been taken off the Jerusalem municipality’s agenda in December at the last minute at the request of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in order to avoid further censure from the Obama Administration at the time. Now that there is a new administration in Washington, Jerusalem’s City Hall approved the building permits for more than 560 units in the east Jerusalem neighborhoods of Pisgat Ze’ev, Ramat Shlomo and Ramot, areas Israel has annexed to Jerusalem, yet unrecognized by the international community. The Palestinians denounced the move, stressing it was “It would bisect the West Bank and therefor prevent the establishment of a territorially contiguous or even viable Palestinian state.”
“By targeting specifically Jerusalem, they are making use of the statements during the Trump elections campaign about recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and therefor legalizing Israel’s illegal annexation of Jerusalem in order to expand its settlement activities in Jerusalem, particularly in the two areas of Ramat Eshkol and Ramot which would entirely surround East Jerusalem which is occupied Palestinian Territory and would cut it off from the rest of its Palestinian environment, and would bisect the West Bank and therefor prevent the establishment of a territorially contiguous or even viable Palestinian state,” said Hanan Ashrawi, PLO Executive Committee Member.