Approval for massive extension of Arab neighborhood paves way for future division of city, blocks Jewish development in key area.
Givat HaMatos, currently a sparsely populated area with dozens of families living in caravans, has been the center piece of plans to link the Jewish neighborhood of Har Homa to the rest of the city.
With the announcement Sunday, however, of the 600 new Arab units in Givat HaMatos, a continuous stretch of Arab settlement will be created, stretching from Beit Safafa to Sur Baher.
Minister for Jerusalem Affairs, Ze’ev Elkin (Likud) slammed the move, saying that it threatened Jerusalem’s Jewish majority.
“Anyone who is concerned about the Jewish majority in Israel’s capital cannot push a building plan just for Arabs [in Givat HaMatos]. The 600 housing units for the Arab population in Beit Safafa are effectively an Arab part of the future Givat HaMatos neighborhood.”
“You cannot just approve construction for Arabs in Givat HaMatos without also approving at the same time building for Jews in the same planned neighborhood, Givat HaMatos.”
Elkin called upon the Prime Minister to open up the area to Jewish settlement, including the construction of 2,000 housing units.
“Jerusalem needs this neighborhood and the more than 2,000 housing units [that could be built there] immediately. The Givat HaMatos neighborhood has special strategic importance to the development of southern Jerusalem, just like Har Homa when it was built.”
“I call upon the Prime Minister to make history again, as he did in his first term [in 1997] with the establishment of the Har Homa neighborhood in Jerusalem and to work actively to promote the Givat HaMatos neighborhood.”
This is a really bad idea. I believe that the Prime Minister will forced to relent to the pressure to NOT proceed in building for Arabs exclusively in this area.
muslims kill jews and BB builds homes for muslims. whats new?
BB has his own poker hand which he keeps close to his chest where no one in the coalition can actually see it. He is forced to build jewish homes because of muslim terror but he makes sure to build muslim homes at the same time. I am sure that the muslim homes will be built but so many announced Jewish approvals end up not built.
Netanyahu and his government act as if G-d is either dead or asleep. We keep reading in our Torah that G-d is intimately involved with the Jewish people. He showed His anger and punishment in the episode of the Spies with their discouraging report and again with Korah and his gang who tried to displace Moses. The Jews of that time were rebellious and were punished. The Jews of today seem to have learned nothing after 3,000 years.