The Committee for Planning and Building in Jerusalem approved 200 apartments for construction Wednesday afternoon in various neighborhoods – including some beyond 1949 Armistice lines. 

This is the first stage of the three to finally greenlight 600 units.

In addition – possibly to ‘balance out’ the construction tenders – tenders are also due to be approved for 176 new units in Beit Hanina and Safafa in Jerusalem next week.

The announcement is sure to spark strong reactions from leftist groups (i.e. Peace Now), the US, and the European Union – all of which have condemned and threatened Israel repeatedly over the past several weeks for building homes for Jewish residents of the capital of the Jewish state.

Notably, those parties are not opposed to building Arab homes in Jerusalem, however – where more than 40,000 illegal housing units for Arabs are being built in an attempt to establish facts on the ground to divide Jerusalem as part of the groundwork for a Palestinian state.