The next Palestinian move: a
huge neighborhood in Jerusalem.
Palestinian Authority officials, led by the billionaire Bashir al-Masri, plan to build a huge neighborhood within Jerusalem's sovereign territory.
The neighborhood will be established near the Beit Hanina and Atarot area.
Surprisingly, the Israeli side approved the venture.
On Tuesday, senior Palestinian officials publicly announced that they plan to build a huge neighborhood in north Jerusalem, within the city's sovereign territory, not far from the compound that served as Atarot Airport.
"After ten years of hard work, I am happy to announce from the heart of Jerusalem the beginning of a tidy modern neighborhood, which will be the largest Palestinian project in the city," wrote the Palestinian businessman Asher al-Masri, who is leading the project.
The neighborhood will be called "Liana" ("ours" in Hebrew) and its construction is entrusted to the Palestinian corporation "Messer International", owned by the al-Masri family.
This is the same company that designed and built the Palestinian city of Rawabi in Benjamin.
The official launch of the project took place a few days ago in East Jerusalem, in the presence of senior Palestinian dignitaries.
According to al-Masri, the neighborhood will be built for Palestinians of high socio-economic status, who want to live in new neighborhoods with high-end apartments, and which include covered private parking, elevators in every building, a commercial center and public parks.
"This is a NIS 1 billion project to strengthen the Palestinian national economy," al-Masri said.
"Jerusalem is our top priority, and our investment in it is important for the economic and existential strength of Palestinian families in the Jerusalem area. For more than ten years we have worked to reach this moment, and we have already begun excavations to launch the first phase of the project. ".
Al-Masri emphasized that "the choice to invest in Jerusalem is a strategic decision, aimed at supporting the stability of our people in places where the risks are high and investors avoid them."
The project managers said at the launch event that all the licenses and approvals needed for the construction of the first phase have been completed, and with the completion of the excavation and infrastructure phase, construction of the buildings will begin.
An inspection with officials in the Jerusalem municipality shows that the city's district committees have indeed approved the construction of the Palestinian neighborhood within the Israeli capital.
However, city and city council officials oppose the move.
Jerusalem City Council member Aryeh King told Israel Today that "this neighborhood should not have been approved by the district committee because the land does not belong to the business owners who are initiating the project. These are absentee lands that have been used by the state and the defense establishment for many years. "They forcibly took over the land, they never presented proof of ownership or even proof of tax payment for the deal. This project is illegal, and all this even before the terrible national aspects."
"Any Arab construction between Ramallah and Jerusalem will undermine the unity of the city," said Maor Tzemach, chairman of Lech Yerushalayim. "Only in this way will we put an end to the Palestinian dream of the great al-Quds."
Jerusalem City Council member Yonatan Yosef told Israel Today: "As a member of the Planning and Building Committee, I am shocked that people who define themselves as Zionists are working against the Holy City. I will do my best to thwart the dangerous plan for the future of the Jewish majority in Jerusalem. The district of the Ministry of the Interior and the local committee of the Jerusalem Municipality prove proof of ownership of the land registered with the Ministry of Justice in Israel. "