Israel has begun preparing to build upwards of 1,000 new apartment complexes in two occupied areas of East Jerusalem, in what some are calling a part of the "ethnic cleansing" movement to be rid the state of Palestinians.
Danny Seidemann is the director of Terrestrial Jerusalem, an NGO that watches developments in the city. He told the Agence France Presse that 300 homes in the northeastern region of Ramot and an additional 797 tracts of land were set for sale in the larger southern city of Gilo.
Both Ramot and Gilo are settlements mainly populated by Arabs. They were occupied by Israeli soldiers during the 1967 Six-Day war, then subsequently annexed.
Seidemann also mentioned that the buildings were ordered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu under hushed pretexts one year prior, putting a freeze on the settlement. The latest movements in their efforts to implement the housing project were leaked by the office of the Housing and Construction Minister Uri Ariel, in order to apply pressure on the prime minister.
But, as Mr. Seidemann told the AFP, "this does not mean that the freeze is over, it does mean that Netanyahu's minister of construction is trying to achieve that. There is a de facto freeze at the moment, there have been no new units since the elections. This is an attempt to force Netanyahu's hand."
Palestinian officials have told Israeli leaders that the settlement construction should end immediately, as peace talks that have lay flat, untouched for years, must be revisited.
Despite Secretary of State John Kerry's four trips to the Middle Eastern region, many still say that the violent dispute that mars Israel and Palestine's history is far from over.
Israeli forces have already begun knocking down Palestinian homes in the East Jerusalem area. Media outlets were not allowed at the site of demolition, but Badran al-Salameh, owner of the destructed homes, told the Palestinian Ma'an News Agency that he was given no notice of the bulldozing of his properties.
"My son's wife and his two kids were the only ones inside the house," he said. "I tried to reach my home when I heard from neighbors but Israeli officers banned me."
