Israel Has Frozen East Jerusalem Settlements Since Beginning of 2013
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Former Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman responded on Monday to reports on Army Radio, which said there has been a de facto settlement freeze in Jerusalem neighborhoods located beyond the Green Line since the beginning of the year.
“One should view this as a temporary hiatus,” Lieberman said. “We have an interest in [Secretary of State] Kerry succeeding. You don’t always have to be right; you can also be smart.” Lieberman added that “during [Joe] Biden’s last visit it was also not right to release the tender. There is a proportional and correct approach here.”
Earlier on Monday, Army Radio reported that since the beginning of 2013 not one apartment has been marketed beyond the Green Line in Jerusalem, citing information it had obtained from the Housing and Construction Ministry. Sources at the Israel Lands Administration told the radio station they blamed the Prime Minister’s Office for the delay – the office is directly delaying marketing of plots for housing in East Jerusalem.
Read more at Haaretz.com.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
