The settlement would be built on 500 dunams of land between the Palestinian towns of Hizma and Al-Ram, and would involve an investment by the government of some NIS 120 million ($39 million) in order to construct the necessary infrastructure, public spaces and community institutions for the new development.<\/p>\n
\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AFP__20100901__Nic485434__v1__HighRes__MideastIsraelPalestinianConflictSettlers-640x400.jpg\")
\n\t\tAn Israeli boy throws water mixed with cement powder into a mixer in the Jewish settlement of Adam, several kilometers from the Palestinian city of Ramallah on September 1, 2010, in a defiant move to protest the killing of four settlers the previous night. (MARCO LONGARI \/ AFP)<\/p>\n
The plan has yet to be deposited with the Civil Administration\u2019s Higher Planning Committee, meaning that full authorization could still take as long as two years.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, 500 housing units have already been marketed for the first phase of development, the Housing Ministry said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe agreement constitutes a significant step in continuing the development of the settlement and strengthening the settlement continuity in the area, while providing a response to the demand for housing in and around Jerusalem, and integrating a phased and balanced planning of new neighborhoods alongside the existing fabric,\u201d the Housing and Construction Ministry said in a statement on February 3 announcing the development.<\/p>\n
The Peace Now organization, which campaigns against the settlements, said that the new plans constituted a further form of annexation by the government and an unprecedented expansion of Jerusalem.<\/p>\n
Following Israel\u2019s conquest of East Jerusalem and the West Bank in the 1967 Six Day War, Knesset legislation and ministerial directives formally expanded the capital\u2019s boundaries to their current position, taking in what had been Jordanian-controlled East Jerusalem. All neighborhoods built by Israel in East Jerusalem since that time, considered settlements by most of the international community, have been constructed inside those boundaries.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the first time since 1967 that Jerusalem has been expanded into the West Bank,\u201d asserted Peace Now.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnder the pretext of a new settlement, the government is carrying out a backdoor annexation here. The new settlement will function for all intents and purposes as a neighborhood of the city of Jerusalem, and its planning as a \u2018neighborhood\u2019 of the Adam settlement is just an excuse and an attempt to conceal the move, the implication of which is the application of Israeli sovereignty to territories in the West Bank,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
Democrats MK Gilad Kariv also condemned the move, describing it as \u201canother unprecedented act of annexation that draws us closer to an explosion in the West Bank.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1771249087_132_WhatsApp-Image-2026-02-02-at-12.01.41-640x400.jpeg\")
\n\t\tHead of the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council Israel Ganz speaks at a \u201cconference of appreciation\u201d for illegal farming outposts in the West Bank, February 2, 2026. (Courtesy Arutz 7)<\/p>\n
Kariv said that he had written to Housing and Construction Minister Haim Katz about \u201cthe plan to expand Jerusalem over the Green Line and to de facto annex territory,\u201d adding, \u201cAnnexation will bring about a security catastrophe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mateh Binyamin Regional Council head Israel Ganz lauded the new development, describing it as \u201cthe realization of the settlement vision\u201d for his region.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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,\u201d said Ganz, adding that his council is \u201calready working on additional agreements\u201d that will \u201cherald dramatic change on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n
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