Israeli authorities are expected to advance plans to build about 9,000 new housing units in a settlement in East Jerusalem on the site of the abandoned Qalandiya airport. The settlement area is in northern East Jerusalem, in a densely populated Palestinian urban corridor. Critics are saying the project aims to create an Israeli enclave surrounded by Palestinian areas which would block Palestinian development and damage Palestine’s geography. Peace Now… an Israel NGO, says if implemented it would prevent connecting East Jerusalem with surrounding Palestinian areas and undercut Palestinian statehood. These housing plans date back to early 2020 when Israel’s Housing Ministry submitted it to Jerusalem’s municipality for planning. It passed initial bureaucratic steps but faced earlier objections from Israel’s Environmental Protection and Health Ministries and previously from the U.S. Obama administration.
This article is important because it highlights how settlement expansion directly affects peace efforts and international law in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Advancing the Atarot settlement plan shows a significant shift in Israeli policy towards settlement. I think this building plan is important because it adds onto the conflict between Israel and Palestine, affecting land ownership and damaging Palestinian territorial continuity. Regionally, this plan risks increased tension between the two. I think some lasting impacts include the separation and fragmentation of Palestinian territory, but also advance living conditions for Israelis.
Israeli leaders want to strengthen their territory by expanding housing settlements. Their government is prioritizing security, demographic control, and political pressure from pro-settlement groups. Palestinian stakeholders view Israeli housing plans as illegal land grabs that fragment Palestinian territory. Palestinians have started protests as they consider the settlements as a violation to their territory.
This is an example of hard power as Israel is enforcing security and controlling territory, asserting sovereignty as a state. And Palestine is a nation. In the constructive lens, Israel and Palestine are at the Hobbesian level as they are enemies engaging in power politics because of self interest and security. Israel is using their national security by protecting their sovereignty, territorial integrity, and interests domestically. Palestine considers this housing plan an inter-state security threat.