RAMALLAH – The Israeli Interior Ministry and the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee began Tuesday deliberations to advance approval for some 5,000 housing units in Jewish settlements in occupied Jerusalem. Israel's Army Radio said that the project, which comes a day after the committee approved the construction of 1,500 apartment units in the settlement of Ramat Shlomo, is expected to be approved within a few days. Palestine said it would pursue UN Security Council action over the step. The report said that the committee will discuss stages B and C of Givat Hamatos, a new Jewish settlement located next to the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Safafa. The report said that the two stages have a combined 1,363 apartment units. According to the report, the Local Committee is expected to grant final approval to stage A of Givat Hamatos Wednesday, with 2,610 units. On Thursday, the District Committee is expected to approve 1,000 apartments in the Gilo settlement. The report said that if the Givat Hamatos project is approved, construction on some of the units could begin within a few months. The report said that the Givat Hamatos building would effectively link the settlements of Gilo and Har Homa, create a block of Jewish residency beyond in occupied Palestinian territories and complicate future possibilities of a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which wants East Jerusalem as its capital. Aviv Tatarsky, head of Ir Amim organization which opposes Jewish construction in East Jerusalem, said that “what we have this week is a blitz of construction plans, promoted by the government.” “More massive construction, of course, makes dividing the city and reaching some sort of agreement with the Palestinians more complex and difficult,” Tatarsky told the Army Radio.
