Gov’t issues two construction tenders for W. Bank settlement

By Nadav Shragai and Gideon Alon, Haaretz Correspondents, and Reuters

The Housing Ministry issued two tenders Thursday for the building of 72 housing units in the settlement of Betar Ilit, which is situated between Jerusalem and the Etzion Bloc of settlements in the West Bank.

This year, the ministry has issued tenders for the building of 235 housing units in settlements, the majority of which are for locations in high demand in the so-called "settlement blocs" near metropolitan Jerusalem and western Samaria (northern West Bank).

In response, the left-wing group Peace Now accused Israel of "systematically violating its obligation to cease building in settlements as the road map demands."

The Yesha Council of Settlements said that despite the announcement, the government is systematically violating its obligation to the public to continue building in the settlement blocs and is making due with symbolic building only.

"This is a provocation not only to the Palestinian people but also to the international community," said Palestinian Planning Minister Ghassan al-Khattib.

Commenting on the 72-unit project, a Housing Ministry spokesman said: "It is a natural development of plans that were approved in the past within the existing borders of Betar Ilit."

Building in Betar Ilit could start within a year, the ministry said.

On Wednesday, Health Minister Danny Naveh submitted a proposal to Cabinet Secretary Yisrael Maimon urging the government to approve building a new Jewish neighborhood between Jerusalem and Ma’aleh Adumim as part of a construction plan known as E-1.

Naveh said the plan is meant to prevent "a Palestinian stranglehold" around Jerusalem and is especially necessary at this stage in order to strengthen Jewish settlement and security in the West Bank while the government simultaneously evacuates settlers from the Gaza Strip.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/608691.html