Netanyahu's Government Plan for 'Building 25,000 More Homes' in East Jerusalem

On Friday, Israel's Minister of Housing announced the government's plan to construct 25,000 homes in East Jerusalem and West Bank settlements. Of these homes, 15,000 units will be in 'Givat Hamatos' on the road from East Jerusalem to Bethlehem in the West Bank; Israel considers this area part of its capital. According to the Jerusalem Post, General Yoav Galant, Israel's Minister of Housing, stated that his ministry, in cooperation with the Jerusalem municipality, will build these homes in East Jerusalem. The Minister of Housing added that a plan to build 10,000 homes in the West Bank is also under consideration. Israeli Channel 2 reported that these plans will be officially announced on 'Jerusalem Day' on May 24, less than a month from now. Israel recalls its control over East Jerusalem during the 1967 war, referred to as 'Jerusalem Day.' This year's 'Jerusalem Day,' for which special ceremonies are prepared, coincides with Donald Trump's first foreign visit to Israel. The Jerusalem Post noted that the new construction plans come at a time when Trump had previously asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to 'hold back' on housing construction to advance the peace process. Saeb Erekat, a senior Palestinian Authority official, condemned the new Israeli housing construction, which coincides with Trump's upcoming meeting with Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian Authority. Trump stated in an interview with Reuters on Thursday that he wants to see a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. Palestinians claim that Israeli construction hinders the renewal of peace talks. Most countries in the world consider East Jerusalem to be 'occupied' and assert that this area should be the capital of a future Palestinian state. Nevertheless, Israel hopes that Trump will recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel during his upcoming visit, a move that all previous U.S. administrations have avoided for the past fifty years. On the same day, East Jerusalem and the West Bank witnessed widespread unrest among Palestinians during 'Day of Rage.' Palestinian and Israeli media reported that dozens of Palestinians were injured and many more were arrested by Israeli soldiers. Clashes between Palestinian youths armed with stones and Molotov cocktails and Israeli forces intensified after prayers in Palestinian cities and settlements in the West Bank and around Jerusalem. The new unrest comes amid a new crisis in the internal relations between the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and the Hamas government in Gaza. The Palestinian government has stopped payments to Israel for electricity to Gaza while also reducing funding for ongoing expenses related to Gaza's administration. According to Palestinian media assessments, Mahmoud Abbas has put pressure on Hamas ahead of his upcoming meeting with Trump at the White House to demonstrate the Palestinian government's separation from Hamas. Meanwhile, hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners in Israeli jails continue their hunger strike, with some reported to be in critical condition. The hunger strike of Palestinian security prisoners began twelve days ago on 'Palestinian Prisoners Day.' Khaled Mashal, head of Hamas's political bureau, stated in remarks in Qatar that 'Palestinian resistance has strategies to compel the Zionist enemy to release Palestinian prisoners.' Israel released 1,027 Palestinian prisoners in a deal six years ago to free its captured soldier from Hamas. In related news, Israel rejected an international monitoring plan in East Jerusalem, and a Palestinian attacker was killed after shooting several Israelis in Jerusalem. The vote on new construction permits was postponed 'at Netanyahu's request,' and there will be a vote in the Security Council for 'immediate cessation of Israeli settlement construction in occupied territories.'