US officials said this morning (Thursday) that envoy Elliot Abrams will request an explanation for the governments new plan to build a new neighborhood. White House envoy, Elliot Abrams, who arrived in Israel yesterday, will be meeting today with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom. He is expected to request a clarification of the Ministry of Housings intention to build a neighborhood that will connect Jerusalem to its Maaleh Edumim suburb, a step viewed as being loaded with political meaning.
According to Maarivs publication, the plan was approved by the late Prime Minister Rabin. It has not been undertaken by any government since then, until the last Minister of Housing, Effi Eitam. Eitam raised the necessary NIS 20 million from the Ministry of Finance, and instructed professional teams in his office to commence development. The neighborhood is planned for a hill below Jerusalems Issawiya neighborhood and the Hebrew University campus on Mount Scopus, just north of the new Jerusalem-Maaleh Edumim road. Thousands of housing units are being planned for the new neighborhood, which will be included within the security barriers contour. The Minister of Defense replied to the publication saying, It is an old plan from eight years ago, from Rabins time. Clearly these are old plans and they havent been brought to our attention up until now. A defense source commented that as the project is dated it also applies to the political situation eight years ago. As far as we know, the matter is in the hands of the Ministry of Housing. Of course is must be looked into, since things have changed over the past eight years. MK Ephraim Sneh (Labor) said in response to the publication: Building this new neighborhood means in effect slashing the West Bank into two parts forever. It is a step that opposes the Road Map accords, and ensures that no solution will be reached in the future. It puts in question the disengagement plans real objective.