Israel pushes ahead with settlements 

Palestinians pray in the Al Aqsa Mosque compound during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in Jerusalem’s Old City

The Jerusalem municipality said yesterday it is pushing forward with 566 new housing units for Jewish settlements in east Jerusalem, swiftly moving into action as the seemingly favorable President Donald Trump takes office.

The building plans were put on hold in the final months of President Barack Obama’s administration and were announced shortly following Trump’s inauguration. Building is planned in the neighborhoods of Ramot, Pisgat Zeev and Ramat Shlomo. It’s not clear whether the project needs further approvals or when construction would begin, but the government will likely have to sign off before anything gets underway.

Israel clashed frequently with Obama over construction in areas it conquered in the 1967 Mideast war but Israel’s hardline government has high expectations for Trump, who has signaled he will take a far kinder approach to them.

Trump’s appointed ambassador to Israel has close ties to Jewish West Bank settlements as does the foundation run by the family of Trump’s son- in-law, Jared Kushner. Tax records show Trump himself also donated money to a Jewish seminary in a settlement.

The international community largely regards settlements as illegal or illegitimate and a key obstacle to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Unlike other West Bank settlements, Israel annexed east Jerusalem and considers its neighborhoods inseparable parts of its capital. But the Palestinians claim east Jerusalem as their future capital and consider Jewish neighborhoods there just like any other settlements.

Israel says Jews have been in those areas for centuries, and that their presence there does not undermine prospects for peace. It also blames failed peace efforts on Arab denials of Jews’ historical connections to the land. Aron Heller, Jerusalem, AP