Israel plans more illegal settlement construction in Jerusalem, in effort to disguise annexation

IMEMC – Israeli Army Radio reported Thursday that the Israeli Housing Ministry started new plans to build more settler homes in Givat Zeev, north west of occupied Jerusalem.

The plans calls for constructing 800 new units for Jewish settlers; its main aim is creating a geographic link between the new settlement and Jerusalem so that the government can claim it as part of Jerusalem, and not as a settlement.
The Housing Ministry said that the budget was prepared for the new constructions, and that all plans are ready to go.

The plan is connected to Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, and his office, while Israeli Housing Minister, Ariel Atias, promised to grant the green light for the project.

Israeli sources reported that the government of Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is avoiding any official declaration of new settlement projects in order to avoid international pressure.

Although the government is not announcing new plans, planning and financing of potential construction projects are ongoing in order to ensure fast implementation once the green light is granted.

Atias in one of many Israeli ministers and legislators who carry fundamentalist views that call for removing the Palestinians from the country in order to ensure a Jewish majority.

In Mid-2009, Atias of the Shas movement made an official speech calling for stopping “the spread of Arab population in different parts of Israel”.

He said that this issue is a national responsibility, and that Israel must act fast to ensure a constant Jewish majority.

His statements came as he addressed attendees of a 2009 conference held by the Israeli Bar Association, focusing on reforming the so-called “Israel’s Land Administration”.

Officials like Atias and Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman of the fundamentalist Israel Our Home party, consider the Arabs and Palestinians in the country as a strategic threat.

Lieberman repeatedly called for expelling the Arabs and Palestinians to nearby Arab countries in order to ensure that “Israel remains a Jewish State”.