Israel to construct 23,000 buildings in East Jerusalem

</p> <p>By Afra Aksoy and Hamdi Yildiz</p> <p>JERUSALEM (AA) – Israel will construct more than 20,000 new houses in occupied East Jerusalem in the next five years, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.</p> <p>“We signed an agreement in the framework of construction of 23,000 new housing units in Jerusalem with an investment of one billion shekel ($276 million),” Netanyahu announced on social media accounts.</p> <p>He claimed Jerusalem was not an accommodation unit, but Israel’s “capital”.</p> <p>Israeli Channel 7 reported the agreement was inked by the Ministry of Finance, Israel Land Administration and Municipality of Jerusalem with the attendance of Netanyahu.</p> <p>According to the agreement, neighborhoods in Old and New Jerusalem will be developed, a large area will be allocated for office space and investment in infrastructure.</p> <p>Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980 in a move never recognized by the international community.</p> <p>