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Ir Amim's Aviv Tatarsky: “The right wing is trying to whitewash the E1 project by claiming that Ma’aleh Adumim lies within the national consensus. Building there will convert Ma’aleh Adumim from an Israeli negotiating point which could be part of a land swap with the Palestinians into a death blow for the two-state solution. Investing billions in infrastructure there expresses a determination to foil such a solution."

Ir Amim’s Aviv Tatarsky: “In the internal Israeli arena, there are those on the right wing who really want to rush forward. Givat Hamatos could happen tomorrow if the government wishes that. That would have a very big effect on disconnecting East Jerusalem from Bethlehem and the south of the West Bank.”

Following Donald Trump’s ascent to power, several significant plans for building beyond the Green Line, in and near Jerusalem, are ready to be implemented soon, a paper prepared by the Ir Amim NGO says.
The plans could create irrevocable facts on the ground and effectively eliminate any options for a two-state solution, for a Palestinian capital in Jerusalem, or for retaining Palestinian continuity between the city and the West Bank, the NGO says.
The document, prepared by Ir Amim researcher Aviv Tatarsky, shows nine such plans for Givat Hamatos, the E-1 area, Har Homa, Kidmat Zion, Herod’s Gate, Ramat Shlomo, Gilo and Atarot.

Following Prime Minister Netanyahu's statement of January 22, 2017 about lifting restrictions on construction in East Jerusalem, Ir Amim compiled a list of building plans

Ir Amim’s Betty Herschman said it was too early to know what Mr. Trump’s policy would actually be. But she said one thing was clear: “The Israeli right is already celebrating.” A case in point was last week’s decision on 500 new housing units in Ramat Shlomo.

Ir Amim said that Jerusalem's municipality has proposed building 500 more housing units in Ramat Shlomo, an urban settlement to the north of Jerusalem. The regional planning committee initially proposed the plan in 2014 but never proceeded. The proposal came up again for discussion on Wednesday, said Ir Amim’s Betty Herschman.

Ir Amim education report: shortage of classrooms in East Jerusalem has grown to 2,672 classrooms; Planning for public buildings allocated for Palestinians living in East Jerusalem constitutes 2.6 percent of all of East Jerusalem’s land.

Ir Amim Executive Director: The escalation in Israel’s unilateral actions in east Jerusalem is evident in almost every realm, and all branches of government are parties to it… The drive to push the Palestinian presence out of Jerusalem – either by direct action or by engaging in practices that render it unseen – is implemented every day.

In Jerusalem, construction of Jewish neighborhoods continues unabated, while Palestinians are still struggling for basic infrastructure. Aviv Tatarsky: In the past few years the state has not approved a single, detailed master plan for the city’s Palestinian neighborhoods, while it approves plans for 10,000 housing units in Israeli neighborhoods.