Netanyahu must resume construction in Jerusalem

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Two days ago, at the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed a hope for "a more built up Jerusalem" next year. Is that a promise to overturn the de facto freeze? Is it a response to the housing minister regarding the fact that for almost two years there has been no public construction in Jerusalem?

When Netanyahu surrendered to U.S. President Barack Obama's dictate for a construction freeze he thrust out his chest and said defiantly: Jerusalem is not a settlement. There will be no freeze there.

However on the ground in greater Jerusalem - certainly relative to its size and needs - the construction halt is almost total: No more than about 350 government-sponsored residential units were sold in the past year in the city.

In many places in Judea and Samaria there are pauses or delays in construction, but these stem mainly from the plethora of petitions submitted to the High Court by Peace Now. In Jerusalem, on the other hand, and even without the court or B'Tselem, it is mainly Netanyahu who is responsible for the stoppage.

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/netanyahu-must-resume-construction-in-jerusalem-1.365455