ISRAEL CONFIRMED plans yesterday to build 50 homes in the West Bank settlement of Adam to accommodate settlers who will be transferred from a nearby unauthorised hilltop outpost.
The plan, outlined by defence ministry officials in a statement to Israel’s High Court, is part of a wider project that still needs final approval to construct 1,450 units at Adam north of Jerusalem.
The news broke just before defence minister Ehud Barak left for Washington for talks with US officials in an effort to reach a compromise acceptable to both sides on settlement construction.
Palestinian officials reacted angrily. Palestinian Authority minister for Jerusalem Affairs Abd Al-Qadir said “Israel doesn’t give a damn about US pressure”.
Washington has been pressing Israel for a total cessation of construction in West Bank settlements but Israeli officials have insisted on the right to build homes in existing communities.
The plans to build at Adam followed the government decision to dismantle the nearby outpost of Migron, which was established on private Palestinian land.
Yariv Oppenheimer, head of the left-wing Peace Now movement, accused Mr Barak of rewarding the settlers. “Barak is proving to the settler leadership that violence and creating illegal outposts pay off.”
Meanwhile, the Jerusalem municipality yesterday confirmed that plans to demolish hundreds of Palestinian homes have been shelved. The U-turn followed American pressure and condemnation of house demolitions by US secretary of state Hilary Clinton.
An estimated 20,000 buildings have been built without permits by Palestinians in east Jerusalem. The city’s deputy mayor, Yakir Segev, admitted that the Palestinians were forced to build illegally because it was virtually impossible for them to obtain permits.