East Jerusalem construction
Photo: AP
Alalo. 'Provocation'
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Political pressure in Jerusalem? A plan to build 130 new housing units in Jerusalem's Gilo neighborhood, beyond the Green Line, was pulled from the District Planning and Construction's agenda on Monday.
The land, which is located between Gilo and the village of Beit Safafa, is owned by a private entrepreneur and is designated for a hotel. The committee was scheduled to discuss the entrepreneur's request to build three 11-story apartment buildings instead of the hotel.
Ynet reported last week that the committee published its agenda with the plan about an hour before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
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Committee member Yosef (Pepe) Alalo, chairman of the Meretz faction in the Jerusalem Municipality, told Ynet that "this plan is a provocation within a Beit Safa territory. I don't even know why it's being referred to as Gilo."
According to Alalo, "It's clear that there was pressure here and it was in place. I find it hard to understand how the municipality is being run here. The committee chairman said the mayor wanted to reconsider the plan, meaning there is no coordination here – otherwise the plan would not have been brought up in the first place.
"People forget that the Palestinians, not we, view Gilo as a settlement," he added. "In order for it to remain a Jewish neighborhood, we must stop doing foolish things and enter negotiations. This is the only way to develop Gilo. What the municipality is cowardly."
Attorney Elisha Peleg, chairman of the Likud faction in the municipality, complained of the decision to remove the plan from the agenda "due to dictations from above."
He noted that "despite the denials, I believe this is a political decision. Everything that needs to be said about the planning policy should have been said, and the plan should not have been pulled so brutally."
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