Israel approves Jerusalem settlement expansion

Ma'an
The Israeli government approved on Wednesday the construction of a new settlement in the Palestinian town of Shufat, in occupied East Jerusalem.

Israel Radio reported that the plan includes three new five-story buildings on a 5,000-meter plot of land, funded by Jewish American gambling tycoon Irving Moskovitz.

On Tuesday Israel’s Jerusalem Planning and Building committee approved the construction of four new settler buildings on the Mount of Olives, in the heart of East Jerusalem.

Moskovitz was also behind the Mount of Olives project, which is intended to house 24 settler families adjacent to a Jewish religious school.

Moskovitz caused a diplomatic storm last year when he obtained a permit to bulldoze East Jerusalem’s historic Shepherd Hotel in order to build a settlement.

Last week, the US, Europe, and other world powers condemned a plan announced by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to add 700 apartments to settlements in the vicinity of Jerusalem.

"The United States opposes new Israeli construction in East Jerusalem. The status of Jerusalem is a permanent status issue that must be resolved by the parties through negotiations and supported by the international community," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said in reaction to the announcement.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967 along with the rest of the West Bank. Israel annexed a swath of the central West Bank stretching from Bethlehem to Ramallah, declaring the land part of annexed Israeli territory, a status never recognized internationally. Full story