Over 20,000 apartments to be built in Jerusalem, new agreement ordains
By TAMAR URIEL-BEERIPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon and Mayor of Jerusalem Moshe Lion sign a housing agreement, 2019.(photo credit: CHAIM TZACH/GPO)
A national framework agreement was signed on Monday afternoon at Jerusalem’s City Hall, stating that 23,000 new housing units will be developed in the coming five years in the city. The strategic agreement was made between the Jerusalem Municipality, the Ministry of Finance and the Israel Land Authority.The signing ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion, and the Construction and Housing Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton, among others.According to the agreements, 8,000 of the newly-built apartments will be in the framework of urban renewal, with 3 million square meters of office space and a NIS 1.4 billion investment in infrastructure in old and new Jerusalem neighborhoods.“Jews built in Jerusalem 3,000 years ago and Jews are building in Jerusalem today,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the agreement-signing ceremony. “Jerusalem is not a settlement, Jerusalem is the capital of Israel forever, 3,000 years is a part of eternity.”“We want to give recognition to the IDF and therefore, in the past few days, I requested to move the IDF exhibition,” Netanyahu continued. “It was packed up and stored in the lowlands and we decided to move it. I spoke with the IDF Chief of Staff, I spoke with the Defense Minister. That’s just me, and we reached an agreement to move the IDF exhibition to Jerusalem.”Mayor of Jerusalem Moshe Lion spoke at the event, saying, “There are governments that want to divide Jerusalem and there are governments that are divided over Jerusalem. This is a historic moment for Jerusalem and I am proud to be the one leading it.”“We invest billions every year in Jerusalem,” said Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon. “And this roof agreement speaks of an additional 1.5 billion... This is a holiday for Jerusalem, for the State of Israel, and there is nothing more symbolic and worthy than this agreement being signed on the very day of Menachem Begin’s passing.”
