As reported previously, the Jerusalem District Planning Committee convened internal discussions on April 3 on outline plans for French Hill/Mount Scopus (TPS 890442 & TPS 896225), Givat Shaked (TPS 969162), and Pisgat Ze'ev (TPS 759894) for a total of some 2969 housing units. In each case, technical modifications and amendments were required for further advancement of the plans. Following the discussions, the committee decided to accept all amended plan documents and approved each plan for deposit for public review/objections.

Discussion on the plan (TPS 991406) for 240 housing units in the existing built-up area of the settlement of Ramot was postponed to April 19. 

In addition, the Jerusalem District Planning Committee has just scheduled a discussion on objections to the Wadi Joz Business Center plan (Silicon Wadi) for May 2 -- a significant advancement towards its final approval. The Local Planning Committee dismissed the objections and recommended to approve the plan on March 29.

See previous alert for full details and analysis on each of the plans.

The aforementioned plans are among a spate of settlement advancements, which will entrench Israeli control over more territory in East Jerusalem, while further detaching it from the West Bank in all directions. Such developments only continue to cement a one-state reality of perpetual occupation whereby one group is afforded full civil and human rights while the other is deprived of those rights.

Alongside the geopolitical implications of establishing more settlements in East Jerusalem, the promotion of these plans highlight the magnitude of housing and planning discrimination in the city. While many of these plans are intended for land located either in or adjacent to Palestinian neighborhoods, they are not designated for the community’s development needs, but rather for new Israeli housing projects over the Green Line. 

The stark disparity in housing and urban planning is exemplified by the zoning plans for thousands of housing units, which are advanced yearly in Israeli settlements and neighborhoods across the city, while proper residential development in Palestinian areas is virtually neglected. In 2022, plans for 40,300 housing units were advanced for Israelis across Jerusalem, 23,097 housing units of which were for new or existing settlements in East Jerusalem. In contrast, plans for only approximately 5900 housing units were promoted in existing Palestinian neighborhoods-- the vast majority of which will likely not be approved nor implemented based on prior data.

Even still, such a number only constitutes around 15% of the total number of housing units advanced in the city last year despite Palestinians constituting 39% of Jerusalem's population. It should also be noted that nearly all plans advanced for Palestinian areas are not initiated by the government as is the case for most Israeli settlements and neighborhoods, placing the tremendous planning burden on the individual Palestinian landowners. 

In the absence of equitable urban planning and residential development, Palestinian families are often either forced out of the city or compelled to construct homes without building permits, which subjects them to the threat of demolition. Since the start of 2023, there have been 63 demolitions across East Jerusalem, 30 of which were homes.