Israel to construct 23,000 buildings in East Jerusalem

By Afra Aksoy and Hamdi Yildiz

JERUSALEM (AA) - Israel will construct more than 20,000 new houses in occupied East Jerusalem in the next five years, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.

“We signed an agreement in the framework of construction of 23,000 new housing units in Jerusalem with an investment of one billion shekel ($276 million),” Netanyahu announced on social media accounts.

He claimed Jerusalem was not an accommodation unit, but Israel’s “capital”.

Israeli Channel 7 reported the agreement was inked by the Ministry of Finance, Israel Land Administration and Municipality of Jerusalem with the attendance of Netanyahu.

According to the agreement, neighborhoods in Old and New Jerusalem will be developed, a large area will be allocated for office space and investment in infrastructure.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.