Israel proposes 500 new settlement homes near Jerusalem

Record ID: 77672

  • Title: Israel proposes 500 new settlement homes near Jerusalem
  • Date: 23rd November 2016
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) PALESTINIAN LAWMAKER, MUSTAFA BARGHOUTHI, SAYING: "And it is the responsibility of Mr. Trump and his administration to immediately tell Israel that they will not support this horrible violation of international law since Israel is trying to claim that they have a green light from Mr. Trump and his administration." RAMAT SHLOMO, WEST BANK (NOVEMBER 23, 2016) (REUTERS) RAMAT SHLOMO SETTLEMENT JERUSALEM (NOVEMBER 23, 2016) (REUTERS) PEACE NOW'S HAGIT OFRAN, WALKING TOWARDS CAMERA (SOUNDBITE) (English) PEACE NOW'S HAGIT OFRAN: "This is a very bad plan, which is expanding the settlement of Ramat Shlomo into the Palestinian neighbourhood of Shuafat, it is confiscating Palestinian land and it should not be promoted. Unfortunately, what we see since the elections of the new president in the United States, that the municipality of Jerusalem is trying to make as many as provocative, provocations as possible and to create facts on the ground that I hope will not conclude into new settlements." OFRAN TALKING TO REPORTER
  • Embargoed: 8th December 2016 15:51
  • Keywords: Israel Palestinians 500 new settlement homes Jerusalem
  • Location: RAMAT SHLOMO AND RAMALLAH, WEST BANK / JERUSALEM
  • City: RAMAT SHLOMO AND RAMALLAH, WEST BANK / JERUSALEM
  • Country: Israel
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
  • Reuters ID: LVA00559O1EMF
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Jerusalem's municipality has proposed building 500 more housing units in an area of the city annexed by Israel after the 1967 Middle East war, a settlement monitoring group said on Wednesday (November 23).
    There was no immediate confirmation of the move by the Israeli government, but France condemned it.
    The proposal is the first since the election of Donald Trump, whom Israeli right-wingers expect to be more supportive of settlement building than Barack Obama's administration.
    Palestinian lawmaker Mustafa Barghouthi said Jerusalem's move was "only the beginning of a very dangerous step" and called on Trump "to immediately tell Israel that (he) will not support this horrible violation of international law."
    Washington has been highly critical of Israeli settlement construction in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Most countries view all Israeli settlements on occupied land that the Palestinians seek for their own state as illegal.
    The Palestinians, who want to establish a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital, say settlements are a fundamental obstacle to peace. The last U.S.-backed talks on statehood collapsed in 2014.
    In Wednesday's announcement, Jerusalem's municipal planning committee recommended to the regional planning committee that it proceed with plans to build the 500 homes in Ramat Shlomo, an urban settlement to the north of Jerusalem.
    The regional body initially proposed the plan in 2014 but never proceeded. The proposal came up again for discussion on Wednesday, said Betty Herschman, a spokeswoman for the Ir Amim advocacy group, which scrutinises settlements.
    After Trump's election, Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett, a right-wing party leader who backs Israeli settlement building and opposes a Palestinian state, was quick to state his view that "the era of a Palestinian state is over."
    Jerusalem's mayor, Israeli businessman Nir Barkat, has also since reiterated his calls for expanded settlement building in Jerusalem, and Israel's parliament last week backed a bill to retroactively legalise settlement outposts built on privately owned Palestinian land in the West Bank.
    Peace Now's Hagit Ofran told Reuters in Jerusalem that: "This is a very bad plan."
    France has proposed holding a peace conference between Israel and the Palestinians in Paris later this year, but Israel has rejected the idea and said it won't attend, saying only direct peace talks can bring about a peace deal.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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