Israel to build houses in disputed areas

ISRAEL: Israeli Interior Minister Eli Yishai authorized plans to build thousands of new housing units in disputed areas of Jerusalem, the ministry confirmed on Thursday.

The interior minister gave the final permit for the construction of 1,600 housing units in the northeastern neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo. Other plans approved by Yishai include the construction of 700 housing units in Pisgat Ze’ev and another 2,000 in Givat HaMatos, both of which are located on land that Israel seized during the 1967 war, local news site Ynet reported.

“The plans, which the minister signed over the weekend, emanate from the dire need to promote construction in Jerusalem, since construction in its center or older neighborhoods (within east Jerusalem) is no longer possible,” an Interior Ministry spokesman told Xinhua.

The decision was made days before the United States officially condemned such construction as a stumbling block to efforts to renew the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Xinhua