The head of the Settlement Council, Pinchas Wallerstein, responded to the announcement that Defense Minister Ehud Barak is permitting construction of 500 housing units; seemingly defying White House demands to halt all construction throughout Yehuda and Shomron.

According to Wallerstein, the ‘new’ building tenders are anything but new. He insists not a single new housing contract has been signed, adding the minister is duping the public, basically referring to completing already existing projects, projects approved in the past.

While the government is boasting its defiance of American calls of freezing construction, settlement leaders and right-wing activists are condemning the government, accusing the prime minister and his cabinet of betraying voters, selling out campaign promises of building Eretz Yisrael and serving as representative of the right-wing voters.

By and large, the yishuvim and larger communities located throughout Yehuda and Shomron are full, there are no available homes, there are no options for young married couples, for demobilized soldiers looking to move into communities, for anyone wishing to make his/her home in one of these communities. Perhaps even more pressed for space are the chareidi communities over the so-called Green Line, found in Yehuda and Shomron. This would include Modi’in Illit and Betar, home to thousands of families, but not coming close to meeting the demand for housing, primarily for young married couples.

A ceremony will be held today, Monday, laying a cornerstone for the community of Mevassret Adumim, more commonly known as the E1 area, which is strategically situated between Maale Adumim and Jerusalem. The city’s mayor, Benny Kashriel explains the significance of this community, which is prevented from moving ahead due to opposition led by the American government, now enjoying support from the European community as well. Kashriel is aware of the need to build towards creating land contiguity from Maale Adumim and the capital’s French Hill area, a reason the Arab community remains so adamantly opposed, working tenaciously to disrupt plans for a greater Jerusalem.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)