Israel blueprint to cement control over Jerusalem

Development plan sets aside $134 million for various projects to encourage young couples to move to Jerusalem.

June 2, 2005

JERUSALEM - Development plans to cement Israel's control over Jerusalem are to be submitted for government approval next Monday, the prime minister's office said Wednesday.

The blueprint will be put forward as Israel celebrates Jerusalem Day - this year the 38th anniversary since the city was "reunified" following the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.

Each year, the cabinet attends an annual ceremony held on Ammunition Hill, the last bastion of the Jordanian defence in the eastern sector and which was captured by Israeli paratroopers in a fierce battle.

The plan sets aside 134 million dollars for construction and job-creation projects to encourage young couples to move to the city, said a statement.

"The prime minister says the plan will help to strengthen our hold over Jerusalem, make the city attractive to investors, new residents, tourists and turn Jerusalem into what it deserves, the first city in Israel," it added.

Jerusalem Day celebrates, according to the Hebrew calendar, the seizure of east Jerusalem on June 7, 1967. Israel subsequently annexed the sector in a move not recognized by the international community.

On July 30, 1980, parliament pass a bill declaring Jerusalem to be the "unified and eternal capital" of the state of Israel, but the Palestinians want east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

SOURCE: UK Telegraph