Boim backtracks on Atarot plan

On Wednesday, Housing Minister Ze'ev Boim had said that his ministry was looking into building a new Jewish neighborhood with 10,000 apartments in Atarot, located in east Jerusalem, to ease a housing crunch in the city.

But on Thursday, Boim said he rejected the idea of building the neighborhood when it was brought before him – something he didn't say Wednesday when talking to media.

''The subject of a possible exploration (of the plan) was brought before me, but I suggested that we drop it,'' he told Israel Radio.

According to spokesman Eran Sidis, the plan to build the neighborhood in Atarot was one of several options presented to Boim after he asked the government's land authority to identify potential construction sites.'

'This obviously was ruled out, because of the sensitive nature of the peace talks,'' Sidis said. ''We wouldn't even dream of doing it....We ruled it out categorically.''

On Wednesday, Boim, a member of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's ruling Kadima Party, acknowledged the timing was ''sensitive,'' but said that was no reason to freeze his office's activities.

An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter with reporters, said Olmert was not aware of the plan before it was reported in the media.

The official said Olmert was surprised to learn earlier in the month that the Housing Ministry said it was seeking bids to build more than 300 apartments in another contested east Jerusalem neighborhood.

Free land near Gaza

Meanwhile Boim is calling on Israeli optimists to invest in real estate in Gaza Vicinity communities. In a meeting with contractors in southern Israel on Thursday evening, Boim said that he had decided to push the Israel Land Administration (ILA) to authorize a program to give out land in future residential neighborhoods near the border with Gaza for free.

Boim said that during an ILA meeting that is to be held on December 31, he will present a plan to market future residential neighborhoods in 50 communities located less than 4.5 miles from the Gaza Strip. He hopes to attract potential residents to the battered region with the incentive of offering land plots free of charge.

It should be noted that the besieged town of Sderot is included in the suggested plan.

In addition, Minister Boim also said that he intends to lobby for an increase in the financial aid for housing payments for communities located on Israel's periphery.

The decision to cancel the assistance was made three years go by the former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's government and since then several proposals have been made to renew the monetary assistance without success.

AP contributed to this report