It appears that despite harsh objections from US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Housing Minister Ze�ev Boim this week will announce continued construction in a number of areas in the capital. Many of the building tenders have already been approved. 763 units are slated for Pisgat Ze�ev, 121 in Har Choma and 286 in Betar Illit.

According to Betar Illit Mayor Meir Rubinstein, the approval for the badly-needed housing came only as a result of tenacious political pressure by the Shas and UTJ parties.

A total of 3,638 new housing units are planned in areas of the capital and surrounding areas including the Jerusalem neighborhoods of Gilo, Ramot and N�vei Yaakov.

(Yechiel Spira � YWN Israel)