BICOM

Israel’s Interior Ministry yesterday advanced plans to build 1,500 homes in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Ramat Shlomo after the project was initially approved two years ago.

The decision was taken in conjunction with the Jerusalem Municipality’s District Planning and Construction Committee, which decided to reduce the number of housing units slated for construction from 1,700 to 1,500 following objections that a nearby archaeological site must be preserved. Initial plans for new construction at Ramat Shlomo received approval in March 2010, a decision that coincided with a visit by US vice-President Joe Biden and caused tensions in the US-Israel relationship.

Efrat Orbach, spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry emphasised that the project must still go through several additional planning stages before final approval could be given for construction. According to Haaretz, an official in Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office also offered clarification saying, “These are not new homes… The intention to build them was publicised years ago, and what happened today was just a discussion on objections to the plan. This is just another planning stage, not the beginning of construction.”

Yesterday’s approval comes two weeks after Israeli government plans for construction in other parts of East Jerusalem and the West Bank met with a sharp diplomatic rebuke by several European governments, including the UK.

The decision was criticised by opposition leaders in Israel. Former foreign minister and leader of Hatnuah, Tzipi Livni said “The construction in Ramat Shlomo represents everything that’s problematic about the Netanyahu government… placing Jerusalem under a magnifying glass and [introducing] international question marks.” Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of being “driven by election considerations” and harming “delicate relations with the US and the world time and time again.”

Israel’s Interior Ministry is expected to announce similar decisions on other construction projects in East Jerusalem over the coming days.