Tomorrow (Monday, January 12, 2026), the Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee is expected to discuss the approval of two plans that are disastrous for the prospects of reaching a political agreement in Jerusalem:
The Atarot Plan for the establishment of a settlement with 9,000 housing units south of Ramallah, between the Palestinian neighborhoods of Kafr ‘Aqab and Beit Hanina. The plan (No. 764936) is located at the heart of a contiguous built-up Palestinian urban area stretching from Ramallah, through Kafr ‘Aqab and Qalandiya, to Beit Hanina and Shuafat—an area densely populated by hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. The settlement is intended to create a wedge in the Palestinian urban contiguity and to form an Israeli enclave that would prevent Palestinian development of the central and most important metropolitan area of the future Palestinian state—the Jerusalem–Ramallah–Bethlehem metropolis. Similar to the E1 plan, its construction would deal a severe blow to the possibility of resolving the conflict and reaching a two-state agreement. The plan was originally scheduled for discussion in December 2025, but the discussion was postponed until after Netanyahu’s meeting with President Trump and has now been rescheduled.
The “Nahalat Shimon” Plan in Sheikh Jarrah for the demolition of the Palestinian neighborhood of Um Haroun and the construction of an Israeli neighborhood in its place with 316 housing units. The plan (No. 1237767) is expected to severely harm the Palestinian fabric of East Jerusalem and greatly undermine the establishment of a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem, thereby preventing the possibility of a peaceful resolution to the conflict. In the early 20th century, a small Jewish neighborhood was built on the site of the plan; it was evacuated in 1948, and its residents received alternative housing in Israel. The Jordanian authorities leased the houses under protected tenancy to dozens of Palestinian families who still live there today. In recent years, settlers—assisted by Israeli authorities—have begun suing for the eviction of the Palestinians on the basis of a discriminatory law, forcing residents to wage a difficult legal struggle to remain in their homes. The state is now seeking to demolish the houses and build a new Israeli neighborhood in their place. Since most of the Palestinian residents are no longer recognized as protected tenants by the Israeli authorities, they are expected to lose their homes without any alternative housing or compensation.
For more information on the Sheikh Jarrah plan – see here.
Peace Now: “These are destructive plans which, if implemented, would prevent East Jerusalem from serving as a Palestinian capital and sever it from its surroundings, effectively eliminating the possibility of a peaceful resolution between Israelis and Palestinians. Netanyahu’s government is exploiting every moment to bury our chances for a future of peace and compromise, ensuring that we continue to wallow in blood and violence for many long years. Especially now, after it has been proven that the ideas of ‘conflict management’ and ‘decisive victory’ have brought a security disaster upon Israel, we must act to resolve the conflict.”
