Mayoral candidate vows to build 10,000 homes in East Jerusalem

Jerusalem mayoral candidate MK Meir Porush said on Thursday that if elected he would promote the construction of 10,000 housing units in East Jerusalem.

Porush visited the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Atarot and Area E-1 between the city and the settlement of Ma'aleh Adumim to the east. The plan to erect a Jewish neighborhood in the area has been frozen by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

The Haredi candidate, accompanied by right-wing activists, said he has officially applied for construction permits for a new Jewish neighborhood in the Atarot Airport area. Porush said the new neighborhood in Jerusalem's northeast will create a continuity of Jewish residence between Ma'aleh Adumim and Jerusalem, reduce property prices and will attract new populations from all walks of life.

Porush said that consecutive studies have shown that the reason for the ongoing wave of emigration from the capital stems from soaring property prices. Therefore, he said, the mass construction of new housing units in the eastern parts of the city will be part of an overall solution to the problem.

On Wednesday, Porush and his primary rival, the secular candidate Nir Barkat, met for a debate. Barkat said that "Jerusalem is turning into an ultra-Orthodox and Arab city."

"It is a disaster that not everyone feels emotionally attached to Jerusalem," Barkat said. "Large parts of the public have nothing to do with the city."

Porush said that the Temple Mount must remain under Israeli sovereignty, but the status quo in the compound, whereby Jewish prayer is prohibited, should remain in place.

Both candidates are avidly courting the national-religious public, which is expected to tip the balance.

	MK Porush (right) touring East Jerusalem on Thursday (PR / Mor Yosef)