New settlement to ‘expand Jerusalem’ for first time since 1967

 A recent development agreement signed by the state and the West Bank’s Mateh Binyamin Regional Council will, once given final approval, see the establishment of a new settlement that would in practice constitute the first expansion of Jerusalem since 1967.

The proposed settlement announced earlier this month would technically be a westward expansion of the Adam settlement, which lies very close to Jerusalem’s northeast boundary. It includes plans for the construction of some 2,780 housing units in a new “neighborhood” for Adam.

But the land on which the new settlement would be built is physically separated from Adam, first by Route 437, a major traffic artery, and second by the security barrier.

Kariv said that he had written to Housing and Construction Minister Haim Katz about “the plan to expand Jerusalem over the Green Line and to de facto annex territory,” adding, “Annexation will bring about a security catastrophe.”

Mateh Binyamin Regional Council head Israel Ganz lauded the new development, describing it as “the realization of the settlement vision” for his region.

“The new plan will allow us to build thousands of housing units, while at the same time dramatically upgrading the quality of life of the residents,” said Ganz, adding that his council is “already working on additional agreements” that will “herald dramatic change on the ground.”