We are sharing this material to make people aware of the reasoning behind the tensions on Jerusalem!

By: Aaron Lerner Date: 25 February, 1997

distributed by IMRA as received from the Israel Government Press Office:

* Located Within Jerusalem's Municipal Boundaries: Har Homa is located in the southern part of Jerusalem near Kibbutz Ramat Rachel and Gilo. The 1,850 dunam site is fully within Jerusalem's municipal boundaries.

* Eases Jerusalem's Housing Shortage: The building project at Har Homa is slated to take place in two stages and will ultimately include 6,500 housing units, as well as schools, parks, public buildings, and commercial and industrial zones. In the first stage, 2,456 housing units will be built.

The Har Homa project will ease the housing shortage in Jerusalem and provide residents with a wider array of housing options.

* Most Expropriated Land was Jewish-Owned: In order to implement the Har Homa construction project, it was necessary in years past to expropriate land, most of it Jewish-owned. Approximately 1,400 of the 1,850 dunams at the site, or 75%, were expropriated from Jews, while nearly 450 dunams, or 25%, were owned by Arabs. No new expropriations are necessary to implement the building project at Har Homa.

* Approved by the High Court of Justice: The High Court of Justice rejected appeals by both Jewish and Arab landowners and approved the expropriations. The expropriations were undertaken on the basis of the fundamental common law principle of eminent domain, allowing governments to expropriate land from private owners for public use. In a decision issued on December 22, 1994, the Court concluded, "There is no other option for constructing the neighborhood other than expropriating the land, and building the neighborhood as planned by the state."

As the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin said in the Knesset on May 15, 1995, "Building Jerusalem, like any other city, sometimes requires confiscating land both for construction needs and for public needs, like roads, schools, kindergartens, and community facilities. It has always been this way in Israel."

* Consistent With Oslo: Despite Palestinian claims to the contrary, Israel's policy is fully consistent with the terms of the Oslo Accords.

Neither the Declaration of Principles of September 13, 1993 nor the Interim Agreement ("Oslo 2") of September 28, 1995 contains any provisions prohibiting or restricting Israel's right to undertake construction projects in areas under Israel's jurisdiction.

* Construction for All Communities in Jerusalem: Prime Minister Netanyahu believes that the peace process must not stop the development of Jerusalem for Jewish and Arab residents alike. He has called for a new construction initiative throughout the Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem.