Approval of 3 plans to build settlement towers in the south of occupied Jerusalem

The Local Planning and Building Committee of the Jerusalem Municipality, headed by Deputy Mayor Eliezer Rauchberger of the Digal HaTorah party, decided to recommend to the local committee to approve 3 plans to build towers in southern occupied Jerusalem; in the settlements of: Gilo, Katamon, Gonenim, as part of the approved plans, with a total of 740 settlement units, in addition to a series of government buildings, including a synagogue, public buildings, commercial and employment areas, and others.

According to land and settlement expert Khalil Al-Tafakji, the occupation is working to build a towering dam of settlement buildings of unprecedented heights on the borders adjacent to the cities in the West Bank, especially in the south of occupied Jerusalem with Beit Jala.

Al-Tafakji told “Y”: “The Gilo settlement was built in 1971, four years after the occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967, on the lands of the city of Beit Jala in a strategic mountainous location called “Mount Salib,” so that the settlement became closely adjacent to the city of Beit Jala, and its extension began to surround the city from different sides, and it began to surround Beit Jala from the west and the north, and tunnels penetrate its lands and mountains that connect the settlements in the southern West Bank to the settlement bloc (Gush Etzion).

Al-Tafkji stressed that the development and expansion of the Gilo settlement has not stopped, as it has a share of all the expansionist settlement projects in the occupied Palestinian territories, as it is a strategic, elevated area, and is considered one of the highest and most important areas in southern Jerusalem and has the most beautiful view, as its hills can be seen on clear summer days from the Palestinian coast and the Gaza Strip. Therefore, Israel has worked and is working to expand it and build more settlement units in it, and at this stage it is linking it to the light rail that connects the settlements of occupied East Jerusalem to the heart of West Jerusalem and its official institutions, markets and public facilities.

It is noteworthy that the number of settlers in the Gilo settlement exceeded 50,000 settlers, most of whom are religious Haredim. Since 1971, its area has doubled to swallow up all of Beit Jala’s lands from the north and west, especially after the influence of this settlement was extended, which began to be the largest future settlement in the occupied city of Jerusalem, in terms of area and number of settlers, as it also includes security, military, intelligence, and political centers for the occupation leaders, and circles of settlement units that were established in the middle on the remains of an English camp and then a Jordanian one.

Al-Tafakji stressed that these huge settlement projects and plans come within the framework of the “Metropolitan-Greater Jerusalem” plan, to isolate Jerusalem and its Old City - the Holy City - from the southern West Bank, and to change its demographic composition and Arab-Islamic identity, in order to implement the complete annexation of the city and prevent its division at any future stage as the capital of the future Palestinian state.

Al-Tafkji explained that the occupation is working to form settlement walls that prevent the separation of the occupied eastern part of Jerusalem in any future settlement, and the situation of Gilo is similar to the situation of the largest settlement blocs in southeast Jerusalem, the settlement of "Ma'ale Adumim", which has practically been annexed to the city within the "Metropolitan-Greater Jerusalem" plan, which includes the gate of East Jerusalem, the E1 settlement, in which the infrastructure has been completed, as well as a series of bridges and tunnels, and the construction of the command and police headquarters and the extension of its infrastructure, and they are waiting for the new US President Donald Trump to start settlement construction.

Al-Tafkji said: The expansion of the Gilo settlement and the annexation of the Ma'ale Adumim settlement, the Gush Etzion settlement bloc, and the Givat Ze'ev settlement will increase the number of Jewish settlers in Jerusalem, prevent any possibility of restoring occupied East Jerusalem as the "capital of the Palestinian state," confiscate 10% of the area of the West Bank, and cut off the continuity of the West Bank, turning it into two separate blocs with no geographical connection between them in the future without passing through the settlements.

According to the local committee’s decision, the master plan was approved for Haganat Street (No. 238) – the main street in the Gilo settlement – where three 26-story settlement towers will be built: 22 residential floors above 4 basement floors for various uses, with an underground parking lot below the towers. As part of the project, which will cover approximately 10.6 dunams, it is proposed to increase the supply of settlement units in the plan area – from 65 existing settlement units to 340 new units, of which at least 20 percent are under construction.

In addition, as part of the project, which is located close to the future route of the Blue Line and the Green Line of the settlement light rail, it is proposed to allocate approximately 1,500 square meters of the plan area to public buildings, for the benefit of a group of daycare centers, kindergarten classes and a synagogue. The plan also includes a commercial facade towards the light rail line with an area of approximately 1,800 square meters.

This plan joins a series of municipal plans to build residential towers in the Jila neighborhood, which from a planning perspective have already begun, in addition to a 37-storey tower near the pioneering Teddy Stadium built on the lands of the displaced Malha.

The second plan approved by the Planning Committee is located between St. Martin and Bar Yohai Streets, for the construction of a total of 263 settlement units.

"Israel's capital continues its construction momentum, with an emphasis on intensifying light rail lines throughout the city," said extremist Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion.

He added: "The approved plans in the settlements of Gilo and Gonenim combine the construction of settlement complexes in central locations alongside the construction of public buildings, commercial and employment areas, and the development of advanced transportation infrastructure. We will continue to renovate the old neighborhoods and work to transform Jerusalem into a modern, comfortable, high-quality city that attracts its youth and attracts new settlers."