Israel to build 551 new housing units in West Bank
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E-mail Xinhua, June 7, 2012
Israeli Housing and Construction Minister Ariel Atias said Wednesday evening that his ministry would approve the construction of 551 housing units in the West Bank.
They will comprise 117 units in Ariel, 92 in Ma'aleh Adumim, 114 in Adam, 114 in Efrat and 84 in Kiryat Arba, according to The Jerusalem Post.
Atias said that increasing the supply of land helps young couples, and construction in the West Bank strengthens the settlements.
The new housing units will be built in addition to the 300 that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already promised to build in Beit El following the evacuation of the apartment buildings in the West Bank outpost Ulpana.
The decision was reached in a conversation Wednesday between Netanyahu and Atias.
Although 30 apartments will be evacuated, 850 will be built instead, the report quoted Atias as saying.
Israel's Knesset parliament on Wednesday voted down a crucial bill that would have kept standing five apartment buildings built on private Palestinian land in Ulpana.
Netanyahu said in a televised statement Wednesday after Knesset killed the bill that he planed to expand the Beit El settlement by 300 homes.
Netanyahu said his government would continue to strengthen the settlements, at the same time strengthening democracy in Israel.
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