But the land on which the new settlement would be built is physically separated from Adam, first by Route 437, a major traffic artery, and second by the security barrier. The proposed settlement would therefore have much greater territorial contiguity with the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Neve Yaakov, which is inside Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries, than with Adam. It would not be a formal part of Jerusalem, and would officially be a neighborhood of Adam, although officials from the Peace Now organization claim that the new settlement would likely obtain at least some municipal services from Jerusalem.
The settlement would be built on 500 dunams of land between the Palestinian towns of Hizma and Al-Ram, and would involve an investment by the government of some NIS 120 million ($39 million) in order to construct the necessary infrastructure, public spaces and community institutions for the new development. The plan has yet to be deposited with the Civil Administration’s Higher Planning Committee, meaning that full authorization could still take as long as two years. Nevertheless, 500 housing units have already been marketed for the first phase of development, the Housing Ministry said. (Ed note: The Adam settlement is about 7 miles from Jerusalem. It is said that Neve Yaakov, located in northeast Jerusalem is about a hours walk to the Old City.) (Read More)
