In response to the attack at the Ma’ale Adumim checkpoint, in which Matan Elmaliach was murdered (26) and ten were injured by 3 terrorists from the Bethlehem area, which were courageously targeted and killed, the government decided to approve the construction of more than 3,000 new housing units in Judea and Samaria. This is the first building permit granted since the beginning of the war, and one of the most extensive so far. This is an appropriate Zionist response to the rampant terror in Judea and Samaria, and especially important at this time of an multi front war, weeks before the month of the Ramadan.
The permit includes the construction of 2,300 units in Ma’ale Adumim, near the scene of the attack; 300 new units in the Kider settlement in Gush Etzion (but which is geographically near Ma’ale Adumim); and about 700 new housing units in Efrat, which in the past decade has enjoyed an extraordinary building boom. The new units in Efrat will create the new ‘Mordot Hazayit’ neighborhood, and will be a key step on the way to turning Efrat from a local council into a city. According to reports, it is possible that soon the site of Rachel’s Tomb will pass to Efrat’s othority, which will strengthen the status of the growing settlement as a center of tourist gravity.
The approval was given at an important time in terms of international pressure, with many countries, including allies, threatening to soon recognize a Palestinian state unilaterally, in order to force Israel to carry out a political move. The approval is well connected to the Knesset decision by a majority of 99 MKs, which ruled that Israel can oppose any attempt to dictate foreign policy to Israel on the Palestinian issue. Blinken, the US Secretary of State, had already spoken out about the building permits, calling them a mistake, implying that they are against international law. But as long as the Americans remain in the declarations sphere and do not move to practical stages, Israel remains free to act.
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