Planning committee approves 176 new settler homes in east Jerusalem
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Jerusalem's Planning Committee approved on Wednesday a major expansion of a Jewish settler enclave in the heart of a Palestinian neighborhood of east Jerusalem, issuing building permits for 176 new housing units.
Construction of the new units will nearly triple the number of settler homes in the Nof Zion neighborhood, which currently has 91 dwellings and is surrounded by Palestinian houses in the Jabel al-Mukaber neighborhood.
"We are unifying Jerusalem through actions on the ground," Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said in a statement about the settlement's expansion.
Wasel Abu Yousif, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization, called the construction plans in Jabel al-Mukaber "a challenge to all the calls by the international community" to halt settlement building.
