Israel Matzav

Israel to build new neighborhood in 'east' Jerusalem?

This story was lost in the shuffle of the terrorists for Gilad trade, but this past week, a new neighborhood in the southeastern part of Jerusalem was approved in the area now known as Givat HaMatos. The neighborhood will have 2,610 apartments. Israel's suicidal Left is furious.

Left-wing activists and politicians slammed the plan for a new neighborhood in east Jerusalem. “I think that this is a decisive massacre of the option of returning to negotiations with Palestinians,” said City Councilor Meir Margalit (Meretz), who holds the east Jerusalem portfolio. “Givat Hamatos is different from other neighborhoods. Construction in neighborhoods already built doesn’t scare me, but this is only on paper and this is a totally new settlement,” he said.

The plan for a new neighborhood at Givat Hamatos has been in the works for years. The general construction plan for Givat Hamatos with 2,610 housing units was approved in September. At least some of the housing units will be reserved for an Arab extension of Beit Safafa.

However, the project’s approval in September did not raise any red flags since the land for the project has many different owners, including the Spanish government and the Latin Patriarch, said Margalit. Determining and reorganizing the ownership for building purposes is a complicated legal process called “reparcelization” that can take years, leading activists and politicians to focus their energies elsewhere.

The reparcelization plan was deposited for public review on Tuesday, which began a 60-day period for review during which the public can file oppositions to the project. With the deposit, the project is close to the end of the complicated approval process, and construction could begin as early as a year and a half from now.

I think we should name some streets after Jerusalem terror victims.

Labels: Givat HaMatos, Jerusalem is the capital of Israel

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:11 AM