Environmental groups protested Tuesday against the Safdie plan, which calls for residential construction that would expand Jerusalem westward.

The groups also held a conference at which they presented data that, they said, proves that the capital has enough land reserves for residential construction without expanding the city - and, moreover, that there is no reason to build new neighborhoods.

Green Course - known in Hebrew as Megama Yeruka, a nationwide student environmental organization - accused Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of giving preference to the interests of the wealthy, who will profit from the construction, at the expense of the open areas in the Jerusalem hills that would be built up under the Safdie plan. Olmert was one of the people who initiated the plan, when he served as mayor of Jerusalem.

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The Safdie plan calls for the construction of some 20,000 housing units on hills to the west of Jerusalem, as well as new roads to serve the new neighborhoods. The national council for planning and construction is expected to approve the plan when it meets to discuss it in three weeks. Opponents of the plan argue that it will weaken Jerusalem's downtown area and seriously damage the scenery of the Jerusalem hills.

Environmental groups have recently won some political backing for their struggle against the expansion plan: MKs from the Labor Party, the National Religious Party, Yisrael Beiteinu and Meretz have announced their opposition to the Safdie plan.

The Sustainable Jerusalem Coalition, which includes several environmental groups, has recently completed a comprehensive report documenting land reserves in Jerusalem that could support the city's projected population until 2020.

According to the report, the projected population increase in Jerusalem over the next two decades is 110,000 people, who will require an additional 37,000 housing units. The report argues that there is therefore no need for the Safdie plan, because there is a reserve of 58,000 housing units.