![This picture taken on August 14, 2023, shows a view of construction cranes at Ramat Shlomo, a Jewish settlement in the Israeli-annexed eastern sector of Jerusalem. [Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images]](https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/GettyImages-1598191090-scaled-1.jpg)
The Israeli government is advancing plans to establish a large new settlement for ultra-Orthodox Jews in north occupied Jerusalem, in an area previously used as an airport between Beit Hanina and Kafr Aqab. According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the proposal will be submitted on Wednesday to the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee for renewed approval. The plan includes the construction of approximately 9,000 housing units in a settlement to be named Akerot. Preparations for the project began several years ago but were repeatedly frozen, most notably following pressure from the administration of former US president Barack Obama. In 2021, the District Committee halted the plan again, pending the completion of an environmental impact assessment. The freeze followed objections […]
