Bids for 100 new homes in settlements issued

The Housing and Construction Ministry on Friday issued bids for the leasing of plots on which 100 new residential units are scheduled to be constructed in the West Bank settlements of Ariel and Elkana.

The Peace Now movement said in response that "the government is destroying the chance to reach a settlement with the Palestinians, and turning the Annapolis peace summit into an irrelevant joke."

According to Peace Now director Yariv Oppenheimer, "The bids are a deadly blow to the political peace process. In order to appease the settlers, the government is allowing the construction of thousands of homes in the Palestinian territories, and torpedoing any chance of reaching a peace agreement."

He added that only three settlers' caravans were moved in the beginning of the week, "and it paid off for them. In return they received a Passover gift of 100 new homes in a central settlement in the West Bank."

Ariel Mayor Ron Nachman said Friday that the residential units had been approved for construction eight months ago.

According to Nachman the plots are in the center of the city, and some of them are intended for the construction of permanent residences for the Gush Katif evacuees.

"Ariel is acting with the consent of both the right and left wings, and according to a commitment made by the US president, which Ariel Sharon showed me after he came back from the United States. I don't understand this racket," Nachman said.

'Only 100 new flats?'

Housing Minister Ze'ev Boim remarked that "Peace Now's ideology is not new, and according to them even construction within the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem is considered a settlement. This is not the current government's stance. The construction was meant to fill requirements of natural population growth."

Yesha Council officials expressed their satisfaction with the new tender, but said this was not enough.

"They are mocking the poor. The 100 housing units are basically two apartment buildings in Tel Aviv, and in the meantime this is only on paper," said Yesha Council Chairman Danny Dayan.

According to Dayan, "There has never been such a deep freeze in construction. Only the construction of thousands of housing units will be able to provide for the communities' natural increase needs."

Elkana Council head Yehuda Cohen praised the government for its "holiday gift to the residents." According to Cohen, "This neighborhood is going through an evacuation-construction process during which the permanent buildings will replace the structures located there today."

He added that the council was waiting for an approval of Elkana's expansion program, which will allow for the construction of 300 additional housing units.

According to the bids, 52 new residential units will be built in Elkana and 48 in Ariel. The bids were published by the Housing Ministry in charge of government property in the West Bank, and are scheduled to be finalized by June 11 of this year. Until that time, the ministry plans to conduct tours in the area for companies interested in building on the plots.

The Housing Ministry stated that the 52 units in Elkana would replace old units that were built when the settlement first began, while in Ariel the 48 units that were approved many months ago and will be built within an existing neighborhood.

The Local Committee for Planning and Construction at the Jerusalem Municipality recently approved the erection of 600 new residential units in the neighborhood of Pisgat Ze'ev, as part of Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski's plan to construct 40,000 new homes for young couples, some of which are planned for neighborhoods located outside of the 1967 borders but still considered part of the municipality's territory.

The construction in Pisgat Ze'ev will join the hundreds of residential units erected around Jerusalem outside of the Green Line, according to a Peace Now report.

The report states that since the Annapolis conference, 750 construction bids have been published for homes in east Jerusalem, an increase of a few hundred percent from last year, during which only 46 bids were published.

The government is currently promoting the construction of 3,648 new residential units in Jerusalem neighborhoods located outside of the Green Line.

Roni Sofer contributed to this report