Qatar’s Emir calls to establish a $1 billion fund to keep Jerusalem Muslim & promises to contributed $250 million to it.

By REUTERS, JPOST.COM STAFF

Qatar called on Tuesday for the immediate establishment of a $1 billion fund to help Palestinians in east Jerusalem, and offered to contribute $250 million to it.

E1 area, officially called Mevaseret Adumim, located in the Judean Desert – Screenshot

Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, made the proposal at the opening of an Arab summit in Doha that is expected to focus on the crisis in Syria and stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process. The emir did not, however, elaborate on the practicalities of the fund.

He also suggested an Arab summit in Cairo to implement Palestinian reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas, Palestinian news agency Ma’an reported.

Palestinians contend that Israeli building in E-1 would separate east Jerusalem from the West Bank, damaging the prospects for the establishment of a contiguous Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital.

Following the Palestinians’ successful bid for recognition as non-member observer state at the UN General Assembly in late November 2012, Israel approved zoning and planning in E-1. However, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu clarified at the time that the government had not actually approved any construction in E-1, seemingly signaling to the Palestinians that any further unilateral actions at the UN would indeed be answered with Israeli building in the area.

In December, the Interior Ministry and the Jerusalem Municipality’s planning committees approved the construction of almost 6,500 apartments in east Jerusalem over the pre-1967 Green Line. The planned construction, that is scheduled to start this year, is in Ramat Shlomo neighborhood, as well as Givat Hamatos.

View original Jerusalem Post publication at: http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Qatar-proposes-fund-for-Palestinians-in-e-Jlem-307746

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