JERUSALEM (JTA) — A reported deal between Benjamin Netanyahu and Avigdor Lieberman would allow construction on a controversial piece of land near Jerusalem.
A plan to build on a strip of land that stretches from Ma’aleh Adumim to Jerusalem, known as E1, is part of a secret deal that the prime minister-designate struck with the controversial head of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, Army Radio reported.
Plans call for 3,000 more housing units, Ha’aretz reported. The building plan does not appear on the official coalition deal document, a source told Army Radio.
Building in the E1 corridor is controversial because it would create Israeli territorial contiguity on area that the Palestinians claim for a future state. The United States opposes building on that land.
