The Cabinet has approved plans for the expropriation of Arab-owned land for building Jewish neighborhoods in eastern Jerusalem.
The decision came amid vows from the Palestine Liberation Organization that it would step up its fight in the world arena against the planned expropriations.
At its weekly meeting Sunday, the Cabinet gave the go-ahead to expropriate some 120 acres of land, about 70 percent of it Arab-owned. The decision was taken despite the opposition of Cabinet members from the left-wing Meretz bloc.
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin defended the move, saying that a territorial link to Jerusalem was needed for the suburbs of Ramot and Gilo, which are located near the projected building sites.
But Education Minister Amnon Rubinstein of Meretz called for equal development of Arab areas.
“We think the government policy should be based on equal care of the Jews and Arabs of Jerusalem,” he told reporters. “We would like to be building in Arab areas of Jerusalem as well.”
Responding to the development, the Palestinian Authority called for an urgent session of the Arab League in Cairo to discuss Israel’s plans.
It also appealed to the United States, Russia, Norway and the U.N. Security Council for help in reversing the decision.
“This constitutes the highest from the terrorism against the Palestinian people, which really threatens their existence,” said Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian Authority official in charge of municipal matters.
He called the decision by Israel’s Cabinet a violation of the self-rule accord, which stipulates that the final status of Jerusalem will be determined in future negotiations.
On Monday, the Palestinian U.N. observer called upon the Security Council to consider measures against Israel in the wake of the land confiscations.
In a letter he circulated Monday at the United Nations, Nasser Al-Kidwa did not seek a formal Security Council session on the matter, but called upon the Security Council “to take urgent measure to redress this grave situation.”
Nabil Sha’ath, the official in charge of planning for the Palestinian Authority, accused Israel of trying to create facts on the ground before the final status negotiations, slated to begin in 1996.
But he stopped short of calling for a halt to the peace talks with Israel.
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