Three large plots of land have been purchased in the northern Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina.
Three hundred housing units are planned for the site, all to be sold to Jewish residents, according to a report published Sunday by HaKol HaYehudi.
The land was purchased with funds donated by Jews locally and abroad, some 13 years ago, in a sale that was “deliberately kept quiet over these past years.
“If we had publicized the fact that we had bought the land, they would have found a way to expropriate the lots from our hands,” explained Jerusalem City Council member Aryeh King in an interview with B’Sheva.
Meanwhile, Arabs have been living illegally in the purchased lots; however, the Court has ruled in favor of eviction to make way for construction of appropriate housing units. The municipality has already followed up with an eviction notice in one of the three lots.
“This is a strategic move that will create Jewish continuity between the [Jerusalem] neighborhoods of Pisgat Ze’ev and Ramat Shlomo,” said King. “It will also create a Jewish presence between Ramat Shlomo and Atarot.”