By NNN-KUNA
Ramallah : Israel is planning to build new settlements, which will include 1,000 housing units, the biggest ever in occupied East Jerusalem area and the closest to Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Israeli Housing Minister Ze’ev Boim has given the green light for a plan to build a new Jewish neighbourhood in East Jerusalem, according to Israeli Haaretz newspaper on Wednesday.
Boim met last week with the head of the Israeli Lands Administration (ILA), Ya’akov Efrati, and asked him for a permit to start the planning process, Haaretz said in its website.
The neighbourhood, which includes the abandoned Atarot Airport, is near the Qalandiyah checkpoint and the separation fence, Haaretz added.
The Israeli newspaper said ILA told Haaretz that Efrati plans to accede to Boim’s request, but is awaiting a formal application from the Housing Ministry before issuing the permit.
The Israeli move comes despite the fact that senior American officials say Israel had promised not to move forward with the project.
Earlier this month, the United States objected to a plan to build 300 apartments in another East Jerusalem neighbourhood, Har Homa, with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice saying it did not contribute to the peace process.