Israel Begins Construction of Har Homa Settlement in East Jerusalem
Netanyahu government starts building 6,500 housing units on disputed hilltop, drawing Palestinian fury and international condemnation.
Israeli bulldozers began clearing ground today for the controversial Har Homa settlement on a hilltop between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, defying Palestinian protests and international appeals to halt construction in disputed East Jerusalem.
The project, approved by Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government, calls for 6,500 housing units for Jews on land Israel captured in 1967. Palestinians, who call the area Jabal Abu Ghneim, see it as completing a ring of Jewish settlements that would cut off East Jerusalem from the West Bank.
“This is a declaration of war on the peace process,” declared Faisal Husseini, the Palestinian Authority’s Jerusalem affairs minister. Palestinians view East Jerusalem as their future capital and consider Israeli construction there illegal under international law.
The groundbreaking triggered Palestinian demonstrations and a general strike across the West Bank and Gaza. Clashes erupted as Israeli forces dispersed protesters with tear gas and rubber bullets.
The United States, Israel’s closest ally, expressed disappointment with the timing of construction, coming just two months after the Hebron agreement. The European Union called the move “a serious obstacle to peace.”
Netanyahu defended the project as fulfilling natural growth needs for Jerusalem’s Jewish population. “We are building in Jerusalem because it is our capital and we have the right to build in it,” he stated.
The Har Homa construction effectively freezes the already stalled peace process, with Palestinians suspending contacts with Israel. The settlement’s strategic location would cement Israeli control over East Jerusalem, prejudging one of the most sensitive final status issues.