900 more homes to be built beyond Green Line
In honor of Jerusalem Day, Housing Minister to announce bids for homes to be constructed in neighborhoods beyond Green Line
The bids have already been approved by the government. 121 housing units are planned for Har Homa neighborhood, to be sold at a "tenant's price", and 763 are planned for Pisgat Zeev neighborhood, of which 95 will be sold at a "tenant's price". Both neighborhoods are beyond the 1967 borders.
According to the "tenant's price" system, the contractor who wins the bid is responsible for selling the housing units to the buyers at the lowest price possible, thus allowing buyers to purchase housing at a cost that is 15%-25% lower than the market price.
In addition, Boim is set to appropriate additional territory on Givat Hatachmoshet for the Defense Ministry and the site's association, in order to establish a center for courses for IDF officers.
Yariv Oppenheimer, general secretary of Peace Now, responded to reports of the announcement to be made by Boim and said it is "like a nail in the Annapolis peace summit’s coffin.”
According to Oppenheimer, “the only legacy Olmert’s government will leave is the expansion of settlements and turning Jerusalem into an unsolvable problem.”
Recently Boim's office issued a statement according to which 286 new housing units to be constructed in Beitar Ilit, also beyond the 1967 borders, were officially unfrozen. Mayor of Beitar Ilit Meir Rubenstein said in response to the construction in his city: "The pressure put on the government by Shas and United Torah Judaism was what paved the way for the unfreezing. It is a good start and we are awaiting the continuation."
He added that "the government decided, upon founding the city, that it was destined to include 10,000 housing units, and no one is debating that. The 286 units frozen were part of the 3,142 units approved by Itzhak Rabin."
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has expressed opposition to the construction beyond the Green Line numerous times. The current announcement may have come at a bad time, as Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is scheduled to visit Washington on Tuesday.
