Less-than-diplomatic welcome for Bush
Ma'aleh Adumim Municipality sets caravan in disputed territory leading to Jerusalem. Mayor says move was coordinated with Defense Ministry
It's safe to assume US President George W. Bush won't be making a stop here during his visit to Israel next week. In a controversial move, the Ma'ale Adumim municipality decided to place a new caravan in the disputed E1 zone between the city and Jerusalem.
Mayor Benny Kashriel confirmed on Monday morning that the caravan had been transported last night and told Ynet the city "acted in coordination with the Ministry of Defense."
The move, said Kashriel, "is intended to stress the importance of the region to Jerusalem from a strategic-defensive standpoint, for the continuing development of Ma'ale Adumim."
The municipality plans to hold a large reception in the area that will be open to the public on Independence Day.
The new caravan in town (Photo: Yesha Council)
"These are hills that overlook the entire city (Ma'ale Adumim), and therefore we must maintain Jewish presence there – not Palestinian. It is also important for when the allotted land for construction runs out and the work begins on Mevaseret Adumim – the new neighborhood in E1."
Meanwhile earlier in the day the Judea and Samaria Police affixed a mezuzah on the doorframe of its new headquarters, in the E1 region.
A report issued by the Peace Now movement last month asserts that since the Annapolis peace conference, there have been tenders issued for the construction of 750 housing units in east Jerusalem and an unprecedented wave of construction is evident in Jewish neighborhoods on the eastern side of the city.
In all, the government is promoting the construction of 3,648 new housing units in Jerusalem neighborhoods beyond the Green Line.
