10 thousand new housing units in Jerusalem and WB

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Plans for 10,000 homes over the pre-1967 lines were ready to be marketed in Jerusalem and West Bank settlements, the Israeli Minister for Construction and Housing Uri Ariel said on Wednesday as he called on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to solve his housing crisis by approving the projects.Ariel’s comments came during the Knesset Finance committee meeting to set the 2013-2014 housing budget. “We have the ability to market 10,000 housing units in [east] Jerusalem and the settlement blocks in West Bank,” Ariel told the committee.This includes plans for homes in the settlements of Beit Aryeh, Ofarim and Elkana, the Israeli minister said.Jerusalem is one of the areas in the country with an acute housing shortage, he added. As a result, he said, prices have risen by 41% from 2008-2012, compared to a 27% hike in the rest of the country for that same period.High purchase prices translate into high rental fees, he said, blaming the crisis for lack of building activity in east Jerusalem.End item/ 149