#EastJerusalem / Under the cover of war, Israel promotes a neighborhood for Jews in East Jerusalem
Since the outbreak of war, Israel's Justice Ministry has been rapidly promoting plans for new Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem near Palestinian neighborhoods. The Ministry's "Custodian of Absentee Property" is working with right-wing real estate firms on projects for over 3,000 new housing units, claiming to develop property owned by #Jews before 1948.
Plans are advancing quickly through zoning committees during the war. Critics accuse Israel of exploiting the conflict to deepen control over East Jerusalem and prevent territorial continuity for Palestinians. Settlements like the new "Nofey Rachel" neighborhood plan threaten to further separate Palestinian areas. Justice Ministry officials defend their actions as lawful efforts to develop private Jewish-owned land.
#Israel has built large Jewish settlements/neighborhoods in East Jerusalem since annexing the area in 1967, including French Hill, Gilo, East Talpiot, Ramot, Neve Yaakov, Pisgat Ze'ev, and Har Homa. This was done to establish a Jewish majority in Jerusalem.
Smaller settlements have also been built inside Palestinian neighborhoods in and around the Old City, creating a ring of Jewish complexes separating Palestinian areas. Right-wing organizations receive properties from the state to build these.
Settlements are often anchored in national parks and archaeological sites, allowing right-wing groups to shape the historical narrative and limit Palestinian use of land.
Use of tools like the Absentee Property Law and claims of pre-1948 Jewish ownership have enabled taking over Palestinian properties for settlements. This discriminates against Palestinians' own property claims before 1948.
Settlements inside Palestinian neighborhoods, along with large neighborhoods in East Jerusalem and Greater Jerusalem settlements, create Israeli geographic-strategic contiguity around the Old City. This undermines the prospects for an equitable political settlement in Jerusalem.
[cont'd] Israel's Settler Government Seeks to Quietly Take Over East Jerusalem as War Rages in Gaza
[...] Since the October 7 attack, the government has done everything it can to advance the development of Jewish neighborhoods in the heart of Palestinian East Jerusalem. To do that, it has taken measures never seen since the city was reunited in 1967.