Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authorized a construction bid for 240 new housing units in East Jerusalem settlements on Thursday (14 October), according to Israel’s Ynet News.
The homes will be constructed in the settlements of Pisgat Ze'ev and Ramot. The areas, widely considered to be Jerusalem suburbs by Israelis, were established on land annexed by Israel after the 1967 War in contravention of international law.
The announcement comes only weeks after the end of Israel’s 10-month settlement freeze. Though the freeze did not explicitly apply to East Jerusalem, the government was quiet with building plans in the area after the political trouble caused when Israeli announced the construction of 1,600 new settlement units in the area during a visit by U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden.
The Jerusalem Municipality Planning and Building Committee, however, discreetely approved small sets of construction projects in Pisgat Ze’ev throughout the summer.
"The municipality's conduct on the issue of Pisgat Ze'ev and the construction in Jerusalem is atrocious," Councilman Meir Turgeman, of the Lma'an Yerushalem party, said, following the municipality approval of 40 additional units in Pisgat Ze’ev.
"Everything is done in the dark, like thieves, and derives from hypocrisy and double standards upheld by the mayor," Turgeman added. "We can't keep lying to the entire world like this."
According to Ynet, Thursday's decision is meant to signal to right-wing party members in Netanyahu’s government that the prime minister will not give in to pressure to extend the settlement freeze, though there was talk of a two-month freeze extension in the West Bank if the Palestinian Authority acknowledges Israel as a Jewish state.
"Some areas will remain under Israeli sovereignty when there is land swap, but Israel is trying to force the facts before this matter is settled, which only proves that all of Netanyahu's talk about agreeing to a two-month freeze for our recognition of the Jewish state is a fraud," said Hatem Abdel Kader, a senior leader in Jerusalem’s Fatah party.
"If we agree to Israel's definition as a Jewish state now, in exchange for two months, he will next suggest we agree to recognize it as a Torah state for two additional months. We'll never see the end of it," Abdel Kader added.
Sources familiar with Netanyahu’s decision told Ynet, "There is no settlement freeze in Jerusalem. The Prime Minister's Office is monitoring such tenders, to prevent him from being surprised by them when the timing is sensitive."