The Orient House
12
July 2001
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Israel Prepares New Blitz of Settlement
Construction In Jerusalem
In line with the Israeli West Jerusalem Municipality drive to absorb Palestinian property and land, a new plan has been issued to re-activate the Eastern Gate Plan. With the election of Sharon, the Eastern Gate Plan, originally approved during the Barak Administration, has gained new momentum with Israeli officials issuing a revised plan of the strategically important project.
The
project located northeast of Jerusalem at the junction of the
Ma’aleh Adumim Road #9 and Route #13 near Shu’fat refugee
camp, will require the demolition of a slaughter house, three
houses, one building under construction and a storage facility
belonging to Jerusalem Electric Company as well as the
confiscation of Palestinian private property.
The total size of the project is 170 dunams including
160 housing units, business offices, a light industrial area
and stations for the future Light Rail project that will
connect the prospective settlement with West Jerusalem.
Geo-politically,
the Eastern Gate Project will physically connect the
settlement of Ma’aleh Adumim with the Mt. Scopus and divide
Arab East Jerusalem in half. The project will also disable a key future Palestinian
economic area and disable future development for Jerusalem.
The
Orient House considers moves to build new settlements in
Occupied East Jerusalem as provocative and contrary to current
cease-fire initiatives. Such actions, including the current
settlement construction on Jabal Abu Ghneim and Ras Al-Amud,
demonstrate that Israel intends to prejudice the status of
Jerusalem by creating facts on the ground and limiting
Palestinian options for future negotiations.
The Orient House demands that the international
community stop Israeli settlement construction immediately
before all prospects for a shared Jerusalem are eliminated.
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