Israel continues controversial building plans in East Jerusalem

Blow for peace chance

On the Palestinian side, a conviction was not long in coming. “This is a continuation of Israeli government policy to make the two-state solution impossible,” said a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The Israeli activist group Peace Now calls the plans “a major blow to the prospects for peace”.

But Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Arieh King praised the decision on the Times of Israel news site. He expects housing costs in the city to decrease due to the construction of the new houses and expresses the hope that these are the first signs of further building plans in the east of the city.

MP Miki Zohar, fellow party member of Prime Minister Netanyahu, speaks of “an indispensable opportunity to tighten our grip on Israel”. Incidentally, the houses are not exclusively intended for Jewish families, a small number are also intended for Palestinians.

Just within Trump’s term

The timing of the decision does not seem coincidental, several months before a new US government took office. Under President Trump, Israel has been given a lot of room to expand settlements in occupied Palestinian territory. Under international law, those Israeli towns and cities are illegal, but the Trump administration doesn’t see it that way.

Under incoming president Joe Biden, that American position is likely to change. The Democrat is known as an opponent of Israeli settlement policy. The construction of the district could therefore test ties with the new US administration. The public tender will close in the days around Biden’s scheduled appointment on 20 January.

Pompeo to Israel

Before that happens, the US Secretary of State will pay a visit next week. Mike Pompeo is expected to visit an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, something his predecessors have always avoided.

Israel conquered the West Bank, like the Gaza Strip, in 1967 during a war with its Arab neighbors. Since then, more than 600,000 Jewish settlers have settled in the area, including East Jerusalem. Israel contests that the settlements where they live are illegal, and views the entire city of Jerusalem as its eternal and undivided capital.

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