A hue and cry was heard when Prime Minister Benjamin Netan-yahu announced last week that some 1,000 acres of uninhabited land bordering the Etzion bloc on the West Bank was being set aside for Israeli housing. We shall leave aside the wisdom of that step for now, instead observing that on Sept. 3 the Municipality of Jerusalem approved plans for more housing in East Jerusalem — Arab housing.
Specifically, Jerusalem approved a plan to expand the al-Sawahra neighborhood east of Jabel Mukabr in East Jerusalem — 2,200 housing units, to be exact.
The Jerusalem municipality, in announcing the plan, stated: “The plan was approved as part of Mayor Nir Barkat’s policy of unifying Jerusalem by reducing the gaps existing in the eastern part of the city, upgrading the standard of living and assuming responsibility for all activities taking place in Arab neighborhoods in all fields of life” — including the road system, public spaces and public buildings.
This is nothing new. Since 1967 Jerusalem has been beautifying, expanding and upgrading the Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem.
Whatever one’s political view of Israeli settlements is, they do not stop Arab settlements, just as Israel’s building of Arab housing does not stop Jewish settlements. There is plenty of empty land for both Arabs and Jews.
Copyright © 2014 by the Intermountain Jewish News
