The mayor of Jerusalem, affiliated with the Israeli authorities, Moshe Lion, pledged on Tuesday evening to build thousands of housing units in the Givat Hamatos neighborhood, south of the Holy City.

Leon said at a ceremony for the heads of religious Zionist communities in Jerusalem, "We will soon begin building thousands of apartments in Givat Hamatos... No one can prevent us from building in Jerusalem."

He stressed that "the municipality under his leadership will be built in all parts of Jerusalem."

The United States strongly opposes any construction in that neighborhood, considering that it does not serve the two-state solution, and has succeeded since 2012 in thwarting construction plans there.