JERUSALEM (JTA) — A Jerusalem municipal committee has approved the construction of more than 1,000 Jewish homes in eastern Jerusalem.
The announcement of the program’s details came Monday, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in the United States to speak at a gathering of Jewish leaders and to meet with Obama administration and United Nations officials.
The plans published by the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee include 978 new housing units in Har Homa as well as 320 in Ramot, all east of the Green Line.
The plans reportedly were approved months ago, Israel’s Interior Ministry told Haaretz. Monday’s announcement was made in accordance with the proper process, according to the report.
The announcement came a day after Netanyahu met with Vice President Joe Biden. In March, an announcement of plans to build 1,600 Jewish housing units in the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo during a visit to Israel by Biden caused a diplomatic uproar.
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