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Last update - 03:10 09/09/2009
Israel authorizes building in another East Jerusalem neighborhood
By Akiva Eldar, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: East Jerusalem, israel news 

Three days after the U.S. administration criticized the decision of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to authorize the construction of hundreds of new housing units in settlements, the Israel Lands Administration published tenders for the construction of 486 apartments in the neighborhood of Pisgat Ze'ev in East Jerusalem.

The new construction project is designated for the outer edge of the northeastern municipal boundary of Jerusalem, and will narrow the distance between the homes on the edge of the neighborhood and the nearby Palestinian communities. Bids have been solicited for construction on an overall area of 138 dunams (about 34 acres), which was subdivided into 25 smaller tenders.

The Obama administration has made it clear on a number of occasions that it is demanding that Israel freeze settlement construction in the territories, including in East Jerusalem. Two months ago, it was reported that Netanyahu had ordered a delay in the publication of the tenders.
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In October 2008, the ILA canceled the tenders, arguing that the bids received from developers were too low compared to the value of the land. Then, last month, Haaretz-TheMarker reported that the tenders would be reissued after an appeal by contractors had led to the conclusion that the official assessment of the land value had been excessively high.

Officials at the Ministry of Housing and Construction said at the time that they would offer or development more land in the neighborhood so as to lower the price of apartments in the area.

Daniel Seidemann, the founder of Ir Amim, a non-profit organization that seeks to promote coexistence in Jerusalem, said last night that tenders of such magnitude would not be announced if they did not have the support of the prime minister. Seidemann describes the bid-taking as yet another example of a fraud that leads to creating facts on the ground even though there is talk of a freeze in settlement construction.

According to the ILA: "The tender was issued with the approval of minister of housing, and there was no additional approval needed at the political level. It is a tender that had been published last year in October and, for technical reasons, so far only two of the 25 plots had been sold."

Meanwhile, a source familiar with the exchanges between Israel and the U.S. on the issue of a settlement freeze told Haaretz that the Obama administration is not interested in a crisis with the government of Netanyahu on settlements.

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      1.   Israeli Construction in E. Jerusalem 03:32  |  Matt 09/09/09
      2.   so what? 03:49  |  neil 09/09/09
      3.   Building 04:24  |  Russ 09/09/09
      4.   President Obama will be so pleased... 04:33  |  BBSNews 09/09/09
      5.   i think its very nice of zionist to build for returnig refugee 04:43  |  palestine thanks you 09/09/09
      6.   Playing Games. 05:51  |  Cool B 09/09/09
      7.   #1 Matt 06:06  |  Abe 09/09/09
      8.   This was approved during the olmert regime 06:13  |  dan 09/09/09
      9.   It really must be fun to "piss off" the whole world...... 06:14  |  Swiss (Dino) 09/09/09
      10.   Israel IS Palestine 06:26  |  Jake 09/09/09
      11.   Obama Capitulating 06:29  |  Bill 09/09/09
      12.   settlements 06:41  |  stang 09/09/09
      13.   OK, So Why Can`t Arabs Buy Apartments There??? 06:48  |  B`galil 09/09/09
      14.   Pisgat Ze`ev borders the Wadi Kelt 06:51  |  Steve of Mevaserret 09/09/09
      15.   ANGER MANAGEMENT 07:08  |  Steve of Mevaserret 09/09/09
      16.   The Land of Israel is exclusively the land of the Jews. 07:20  |  B. Gold 09/09/09
      17.   Housing in Pisgat Zeev should be for both Israelis and Pals 07:57  |  Esther 09/09/09
      18.   Well, stang #6, that may be a partial solution... 08:05  |  Esther 09/09/09
      19.   building on others appropriated land is treif 09:44  |  peter@gezer.org.il 09/09/09
      20.   #12 - read the news my friend 10:25  |  Yakov 09/09/09
      21.   there is nothing like settlement 10:45  |  johnson 09/09/09
      22.   GOOD! 12:10  |  Nechama 09/09/09
      23.   B. Gold and jewwish rights 12:37  |  john the american 09/09/09
      24.   And why shouldn`t they? 14:00  |  Steven 09/09/09
      25.   to Steve #13 - 2nd try 15:19  |  zeev 09/09/09
      26.   #4 ..Bbs News 15:33  |  Malone 09/09/09
      27.   to Steven #21 16:02  |  zeev 09/09/09
      28.   #1 Matt in Michigan 16:22  |  Jasper 09/09/09
      29.   Steven UK, incorrect, East Jerusalem`s "annexation" is illegal... 16:34  |  BBSNews 09/09/09
      30.   so proud to be an American 17:13  |  edgar 09/09/09
      31.   In the debate there are two types of justice: 17:18  |  Mikael 09/09/09
      32.   Israel will never learn 18:14  |  T A Sheppard 09/09/09
      33.   to Steven #24 - 5th try 19:44  |  zeev 14/09/09
      34.   to B. Gold #16 - 6th try 19:45  |  zeev 14/09/09
      35.   #10, Jake, Jordan is Arab Palestine 19:59  |  David 07/10/09
      36.   #32, Israel is for peace, Arab states against it 20:04  |  David 07/10/09
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