Israel to build '180 housing units' in East Jerusalem

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli authorities plan to build 180 new housings units in East Jerusalem, an Israeli peace group said Monday.

Israel's Land Administration made the announcement last week, saying that the new units will be built for the families of Israeli security forces, Peace Now said.

The area slated for construction is located between the Palestinian neighborhoods of Sur Baher and Um Lison, on land confiscated by Israel in 1970, Peace Now said.

"It is a shame that in a city where over 1/3 of the population is Palestinian, the authorities are planning only for Israelis, even near Palestinian areas in East Jerusalem, where such construction is desperately needed," the group said.

"This policy is not only taking us away from the possibility to get to Two States, but is also discriminatory and adds to the instability in Jerusalem."

The location of the housing units was reached according to a previous Israeli government decision to build homes for security personnel in "places with special characteristics that can justify such allocations, according to the ILA considerations."

Israeli settlement construction in the occupied Palestinian territories is illegal and repeatedly condemned by the international community.