The Jerusalem municipality is promoting a plan to build 2,500 new
housing units to the east of Gilo settlement. The plan encompasses 50
acres near Route 50, one third of which is absentee property -- meaning,
it belongs to Palestinian refugees. In July, the Israeli government also announced the construction of 240 housing units in settlements elsewhere in East Jerusalem.
Since
the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, Israel has built more than a dozen
Jewish-only neighborhoods in East Jerusalem for the benefit of 200,000
Israelis settlers. The international community views Israeli settlement construction and expansion as a clear violation of international law.