JERUSALEM (JTA) — A Jerusalem municipal planning committee approved the construction of 153 housing units in a Jewish neighborhood of eastern Jerusalem.
The permissions Thursday for the Gilo neighborhood follow days after construction was approved for 566 housing units in the eastern Jerusalem neighborhoods of Ramot, Ramat Shlomo and Pisgat Zeev, and two days after Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans for 2,500 housing units in the West Bank.
Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Meir Turgeman told the French news agency AFP that the approvals Thursday were among those held up due to U.S. pressure under the Obama administration,
The White House has not condemned any of the announcements, but Sean Spicer, the White House spokesman, said Tuesday at the daily briefing for reporters that President Donald Trump would discuss the recent settlement expansion plans when he meets next month with Netanyahu. Israeli leaders perceive Trump as more supportive of settlement construction.
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