Israel Advances Plans to Build 9,000 Homes in Occupied East Jerusalem

Updated by Eric Kikomeko at 1424 EAT on Wednesday 17 December 2025

Israeli authorities are expected to advance plans this week to build about 9,000 new housing units in a settlement on the site of the abandoned Qalandiya airport in occupied East Jerusalem, a move critics say would further fragment Palestinian territory and undermine prospects for a contiguous Palestinian state.

The proposed development, known by Israeli authorities as the Atarot neighbourhood, is located in northern East Jerusalem and has drawn comparisons to the controversial E1 settlement plan. According to the Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now, the project’s outlines are scheduled to be discussed and approved on Wednesday by the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee.

The advocacy group said the proposed settlement would be built within a densely populated Palestinian urban area, extending from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank and Kafr Aqab in the north through the Qalandiya refugee camp, ar-Ram, Beit Hanina and Bir Nabala.

It would create an Israeli enclave in an area where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians live in close proximity, a move the group said is intended to block Palestinian development in a strategic corridor and further diminish the prospects for a sovereign Palestinian state.

“This is a destructive plan that, if implemented, would prevent any possibility of connecting East Jerusalem with the surrounding Palestinian area and would, in practice, prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel,” Peace Now said.

The group said the government was moving to establish a new ultra-Orthodox settlement north of Jerusalem across the Green Line, describing the planned Atarot development as a political move aimed at entrenching Israeli control in an area it said should form part of a future Palestinian state alongside Israel.

The project would include about 9,000 housing units, which the organisation said would ultimately have to be evacuated under any negotiated peace agreement.

The group accused the far-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of using the current political moment to undermine prospects for peace and compromise.

“Especially now, when it is clear to everyone that the ideas of ‘managing the conflict’ and ‘decisive victory’ have led to a security disaster for Israel, we must act to resolve the conflict,” the group said.

According to Peace Now, the plan dates back to early 2020, when Israel’s Housing Ministry submitted it to the Jerusalem municipality for preparation ahead of approval. While the bureaucratic process was completed within months, the proposal encountered objections from the Environmental Protection and Health ministries. Peace Now added that the administration of former US president Barack Obama had also opposed the plan.

The project would still require further government consideration and approval before gaining legal force and proceeding to the tender stage for construction contractors.

Most of the land designated for the plan is classified by Israeli authorities as “state land,” meaning approval from Palestinian landowners would not be required.

Israel has accelerated several major settlement projects in occupied Palestinian territory and taken steps critics describe as amounting to de facto annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank, alongside its ongoing war on Gaza, which began in October 2023 and has resulted in a large civilian death toll, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Israeli officials continue to promote the E1 settlement plan, which would involve the construction of thousands of housing units in the occupied West Bank, despite sustained international opposition.

The broadcaster said Israel’s security cabinet last week approved measures to retroactively legalise 19 settlements across the occupied West Bank, which are considered illegal under international law.

Demolitions and arrests

Israeli forces have maintained near-daily raids across the occupied West Bank, while settlers, frequently acting under military protection, have carried out attacks on Palestinian communities and property, according to Al Jazeera.

On Wednesday, Israeli authorities began demolishing Palestinian structures in the town of Biddu, northwest of occupied East Jerusalem, citing a lack of building permits.

In the Ramallah area, settlers set fire to Palestinian vehicles and sprayed racist graffiti in the village of Ein Yabrud, the report said.

Israeli forces also arrested several Palestinians during raids in multiple locations, including Nablus.

Local officials said the Israeli military is planning to demolish 25 residential buildings in the Nur Shams refugee camp later this week, Al Jazeera reported.

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