From the terrace of the mall in Maale Adumim, a West Bank settlement eight miles from Jerusalem that serves as a bedroom community for Israel’s capital city, customers get a panoramic view of the Judean Desert to the east.
The Palestinians appealed to the United Nations Security Council to stop Israel from making plans to build 3,000 apartments in a controversial area outside of Jerusalem.
The Union for Reform Judaism criticized Israel for its decision to build new settlement housing and the Palestinians for unilaterally seeking upgraded status at the United Nations.
Israel moved ahead with plans to build 3,000 settler homes in one of the most sensitive areas of the West Bank, as the European Union summoned Israel\’s envoy to add its voice to a storm of international protest.
Building in the E-1 area between eastern Jerusalem and the West Bank settlement of Ma\’ale Adumim would be \”especially damaging\” to efforts to reach a two-state solution, the State Department said.
The United States on Monday reiterated its opposition to new Israeli settlement activity on West Bank land including in the site known as \”E1\”, which it said could be especially damaging to efforts to achieve a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.