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Jan. 8, 2021
The appeals committee of the National Planning and Building Council approved a large-scale building plan for the green hillsides of Reches Lavan (White Ridge) on the western edge of Jerusalem, rejecting some 6,000 objections by residents and environmental groups.
The plan includes a new neighborhood with 5,250 housing units on 1,045 dunams (261.25 acres) of open green space adjacent to the capital.
The White Ridge plan is at the center of a large public debate that has been going on for years, and is the biggest environmental battle being fought in Jerusalem today. Promoted by the Construction and Housing Ministry and the Israel Lands Authority, the plan would be the largest expansion of the capital to the west ever undertaken. Supporters say it is essential to enable urban renewal in the nearby neighborhoods of Kiryat Menahem and Kiryat Hayovel, and that it will ease the housing shortage in the city.