The Hebrew newspaper "Times of Israel" revealed that Israeli authorities approved the construction of a new settlement neighborhood east of Jerusalem, stating that "this plan will sever the geographic connection between southern West Bank and Jerusalem." The newspaper noted that the new settlement neighborhood, which will partially be located in eastern Jerusalem, received final approval from the local planning committee of the authorities in Jerusalem. It added: "This neighborhood, called the Lower Channel Project, will be the first major neighborhood in eastern Jerusalem to be approved since 2012."
According to "Times of Israel," the planned neighborhood will be built on both sides of the Green Line (a fictitious line that separates the internally occupied Palestinian territories of 1948 from the lands occupied in 1967), south of the Ramat Rachel settlement in southern Jerusalem, and west of the village of Sur Baher, between the "Har Homa" settlement in eastern Jerusalem and the "Givat Hamatos" settlement.
The "Lower Channel" project will see the construction of approximately 1,792 settlement units on about 186 dunams of Palestinian land. The Hebrew newspaper added: "The plan will be the largest settlement project approved in eastern Jerusalem since the Givat Hamatos settlement received the green light in 2012."
The organization "Ir Amim," which monitors the construction of settlement neighborhoods in eastern Jerusalem, stated that under the plan, a road access to the new neighborhood will be built over the Green Line on privately owned Palestinian land belonging to residents of Umm Tuba, "and it is likely that this land will be confiscated."
