Israel approves building 891 housing units in East Jerusalem

Israel on Wednesday approved a plan to construct 891 housing units in East Jerusalem, Israeli officials said.

Deputy Minister of Construction and Housing Jacky Levy confirmed that the Jerusalem Municipality Planning and Construction Committee authorized the new construction between Gilo, a Jewish neighborhood in southeast Jerusalem, and the Palestinian neighborhood of Beit Jala.

The construction area is located beyond the "green line" on lands Israel annexed during the 1967 War, in a move never recognized by the international community.

Walla news website reported that the committee was expected to approve the plan in November, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was on an official visit to the United States. According to officials with the municipality, he instructed them to delay the approval so it would not coincide with the visit.

The U.S. and the international community object the construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The Palestinians view East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. Israeli officials, on the other hand, insist that Jerusalem is Israel's "undivided and eternal" capital and reject the international community's criticism, saying Israel has a right to build there.

The latest approval came amid a three-month wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence, which claimed the lives of at least 117 Palestinians, two foreign nationals and 19 Israelis. Endit