Israel pushes forward controversial East Jerusalem Jewish enclave before Trump exits

Israel is pushing forward with controversial plans to develop a Jewish enclave in a strategic area of East Jerusalem, in the waning days of a Trump administration sympathetic to Israeli settlement activity.

On Sunday, the Israel Land Authority solicited bids to build 1,257 flats in the Givat Hamatos area, a project that was originally approved in 2014 but was delayed over international opposition. The new construction would drive a wedge between the West Bank and East Jerusalem, further cutting off Palestinians’ access to the city and dimming their hopes to establish a state capital in its eastern sector.

“It’s been a long-standing red line,” said Amy Cohen, a spokeswoman for the Jerusalem-based non-profit group Ir Amim, which seeks a negotiated resolution of the city’s status. “We see this very much in correlation to the imminent change in the US administration.”

The project could create strains with the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden, who has gone head-to-head with Israel in the past over building in East Jerusalem, seized from Jordan along with the West Bank during the 1967 Middle East war.

Under President Donald Trump, the US has pursued policies uniquely favourable to Israel, including moving its embassy to Jerusalem and deeming Jewish settlements not illegal under international law. This week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to visit a West Bank settlement during a visit to the region, something predecessors did not do to avoid the perception of legitimising Israeli construction on captured land.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh denounced the planned visit, saying “this dangerous precedent legalises settlements.” A spokesman for President Mahmoud Abbas, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, called the advancement of the Givat Hamatos project “a continuation of the occupation government’s attempts to kill the internationally supported two-state solution.”