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Last update - 11:26 01/06/2008
Israel to build over 800 new homes in East Jerusalem areas
By Nadav Shragai, Haaretz Correspondent and News Agencies
Tags: Israel, construction 

Israel announced plans on Sunday to build more than 800 hundred new homes in eastern parts of the Jerusalem municipality, despite U.S. and Palestinian calls to halt settlement expansion.

The announcement was issued two days before Prime Minister Ehud Olmert embarks on a three-day visit to Washington.

The 2003 peace road map, reaffirmed by Israeli and Palestinian leaders at a conference hosted by U.S. President George W. Bush in November, requires a halt to all settlement activity on occupied land where Palestinians seek statehood.
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Housing Minister Zeev Boim instructed his office to publish a tender to build an additional 763 housing units in Pisgat Zeev and 121 housing units at Har Homa, an area Palestinians refer to as Jabal Abu Ghneim.

Both sites are located on lands captured by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War, and were incorporated into the municipal borders of Jerusalem in an act not recognised internationally.

Yasser Abed Rabbo, a senior aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said Olmert's government "talks about peace while at the same time works on undermining the basis of peace by increasing settlement activity in Jerusalem and around it."

A Boim spokesman said the new tenders were a part of steps the government was taking to "strengthen Jerusalem."

However, Olmert, in keeping with the previous government's policy, has vowed to keep West Bank settlement blocs, including enclaves near Jerusalem, under any future peace accord.

Israel regards all of Jerusalem as its capital. Palestinians want East Jerusalem to be the capital of the state they hope to establish in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Last month Boim instructed his office to publish a tender to build 286 new homes in the settlement of Beitar Illit, near Jerusalem.

Palestinian leaders say settlement expansion around Jerusalem could cut off Palestinians' access to the holy city and carve up the West Bank in a way that would deny them a contiguous state
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  1.   Jews in East Jerusalem should be reesdints of Palestine 12:17  |  Charlie 01/06/08
  2.   The Jews have the right to build and live freely in their country 12:44  |  Jean Van Daem 01/06/08
  3.   MORE LAND THEFT 13:34  |  JH 01/06/08
  4.   #3 jaack hass and more invented history 14:14  |  victor hardman 01/06/08
  5.   JH-Living in Indian land 14:20  |  Shmuel 01/06/08
  6.   # 3 JH 14:24  |  Joy 01/06/08
  7.   Israel will not survive 14:47  |  Rasta 01/06/08
  8.   Take that, America! 14:52  |  W 01/06/08
  9.   Whose claim for the land is correct? 15:26  |  Sam C 01/06/08
  10.   Is this good for the "peace," negotiations? 15:31  |  Sam 01/06/08
  11.   No, no, Israel to build over 800 new homes in sovereign Israeli 15:33  |  Amihai 01/06/08
  12.   Pisgat Zeev is not part of Israel 15:34  |  John 01/06/08
  13.   To Sam C 15:37  |  John 01/06/08
  14.   Israel WON stupid!!! 15:44  |  Joe 01/06/08
  15.   Arab doublespeak means life goes forward for Israelis 15:51  |  Sam 01/06/08
  16.   Good news, continue to build housing, land is for Jews / Israelis 16:11  |  Johnny 01/06/08
  17.   Only 800 - Should be 8000 just for starters 16:12  |  * BEN JABO 01/06/08
  18.   NOT OCCUPIED! LIBERATED LAND! 16:13  |  WARRIOR 01/06/08
  19.   Rasta #7, Good for you now spend your daily 12 hours finding food 16:14  |  Johnny 01/06/08
  20.   Thanks Joe 16:20  |  John 01/06/08
  21.   Take that America-Israel 16:27  |  Shmuel 01/06/08
  22.   3 JH some facts of historys! The hebrews came to the region only 16:42  |  lakshmi 01/06/08
  23.   #10 there are no `peace negotiations`. 16:49  |  redmike 01/06/08
  24.   The right thing, or the smart thing 16:51  |  Aaron 01/06/08
  25.   Can`t Stop Progress 17:09  |  Steve 01/06/08
  26.   Jerusalem is the eternal undivided capital of Israel! 17:16  |  Paul Henzen 01/06/08
  27.   they won 17:31  |  yhudit 01/06/08
  28.   Amihai is right. Instead of focusing attention on the building of 17:35  |  Yavin 01/06/08
  29.   #22 LAKSHMI AND "FACTS" 17:36  |  JH 01/06/08
  30.   ISRAELIS ARE MISERABLE THIEVES AND LIARS 17:37  |  JH 01/06/08
  31.   Yhudit, #27 17:41  |  Greg 01/06/08
  32.   Pals haven`t said they will stop attacking Israel if have state 17:42  |  Sam 01/06/08
  33.   Abe 18:05  |  Which one 01/06/08
  34.   29 JH oh I agree! There is an excellent article by Stuart 18:28  |  lakshmi 01/06/08
  35.   Jh and lakshmi(if this is a name) 19:21  |  JP 01/06/08
  36.   And that`s how appartheid is being built, 19:24  |  Jozef 01/06/08
  37.   More confidence building (no pun intended) measures 19:41  |  Labhras 01/06/08
  38.   "Historically Arab East Jerusalem" 19:41  |  realist 01/06/08
  39.   Why won`t the state of Israel keep its word ? 19:47  |  tristan 01/06/08
  40.   38 Realist,the UN Partition Resolution 181,designated Jerusalem 20:17  |  lakshmi 01/06/08
  41.   For JH (30) Israel in the 19th Century 20:28  |  Steve 01/06/08
  42.   #38 realist makes up his/her own reality 20:29  |  Labhras 01/06/08
  43.   Pals didn`t accept Israel when there were a lot less settlers 20:32  |  Sam 01/06/08
  44.   Lakshmi #22 and JH - Check your history 20:37  |  Elihu 01/06/08
  45.   Israel does not want peace. 20:39  |  Maki 01/06/08
  46.   The dogs bark, the Israeli caravan moves on... 20:40  |  Paul Henzen 01/06/08
  47.   Lakshmi - With all due respect 20:54  |  Elihu 01/06/08
  48.   jewish capital which arab invaders forfeited by attacking israel 21:16  |  frenz 01/06/08
  49.   #41 Steve 21:37  |  Boycott 01/06/08
  50.   How about this to stop the Gaza rockets? 21:40  |  Steve G 01/06/08
  51.   To # 1, I agree with you, This need the following requirement 21:55  |  Simon Mohammed 01/06/08
  52.   # 49 Boycott - Wake up to reality! 22:01  |  Paul Henzen 01/06/08
  53.   Boycott yourself (41) 22:09  |  Steve 01/06/08
  54.   ISRAEL TO BUILD OVER 800 NEW HOMES IN E.JERUSALEM AREAS 22:12  |  martin list, m.d. 01/06/08
  55.   The world should quit Israel`s peace illusions 22:22  |  Steve 01/06/08
  56.   To 52, your way of comparaison is not accurate Sir 22:23  |  Simon Mohammed 01/06/08
  57.   Our Perverts are meddling in Israeli internal affairs 22:41  |  Truth of Islam 01/06/08
  58.   There is no Palestine... yet! 23:04  |  Ari 01/06/08
  59.   Jeanne Van Daem One state? 00:25  |  Palestinian Brit 02/06/08
  60.   We will not accept any limits on building in our tiny land. 00:42  |  Chaim 02/06/08
  61.   800 new homes 00:51  |  siem 02/06/08
  62.   This shows how honest Israelis are.They are 01:50  |  Jaffar 02/06/08
  63.   #53 Steve in Israel 01:50  |  Boycott 02/06/08
  64.   Why only 800 homes? 03:46  |  Brian V Hunt 02/06/08
  65.   Chaim No. 58 04:02  |  Steve 02/06/08
  66.   65 Boycot 04:47  |  Claim Owner Esq. 02/06/08
  67.   #1 No thanks, Charlie 05:04  |  Shylock 02/06/08
  68.   #17 Ben Jabo: 8,000 05:08  |  Jew for Justice 02/06/08
  69.   Boycott Intelligence 05:49  |  Steve 02/06/08
  70.   #47 Elihu 06:03  |  Space 02/06/08
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