Jerusalem, ALRAY – The committees of planning and construction in the Israeli municipality in Jerusalem officially announced a plan to build a new settlement neighborhood southwest of the city called the slopes of the torch, overlooking and adjacent to the territories of the Palestinian village of Walaja, and close to the town of Beit Jala.

According to documents and maps seen by the Media Centre for Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa affairs "Ciobrs", the municipality approved and published the details of building a new neighborhood in the hills of the southern West Jerusalem, an area of about 170 dunums.

The construction scheme includes the establishment of 493 housing units, as well as a Jewish synagogue and its facilities, the center explained.

The targeted area includes historic archaeological zones, although the information indicates the presence of Arab and Islamic effects at the site, such as ponds and canals of ancient Islamic architecture, Islamic or agricultural buildings.

With this settlement project, the Israeli establishment erodes most of the beautiful hills of Jerusalem, which constituted a part of the spaces in the Islamic, Arab successive epochs, and changing their natural landmarks into settlement projects.