In swipe at Biden, Netanyahu pledges to ‘build in Jerusalem’ despite ‘pressure’

In swipe at Biden, Netanyahu pledges to ‘build in Jerusalem’ despite ‘pressure’

TOI STAFF

Prime Minister Netanyahu weighed in on the recent tensions in Jerusalem at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, emphasizing that Israel retains the right to “build in Jerusalem,” after the Biden administration criticized the impeding evictions of Palestinian families in East Jerusalem and Israeli construction in the West Bank.

“We emphatically reject the pressures not to build in Jerusalem. Unfortunately, these pressures have been increasing of late. I say even to our best friends: Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. Just as every people builds its capital and in its capital, so too do we reserve the right to build Jerusalem and in Jerusalem. This is what we have done and what we will continue to do,” he said, according to a statement from his office.

The cabinet meeting was held in Jerusalem’s City hall in honor of Jerusalem Day on Monday.

Three times since the beginning of April, US officials reached out to the Prime Minister’s Office to express their opposition to Israeli steps to build beyond the Green Line, Channel 12 reported Thursday.

Netanyahu has repeatedly dismissed these objections.

The US last week also expressed concerns over the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah, where over 70 Palestinian residents are threatened with eviction and could be replaced by right-wing Jewish nationalists in a legal battle being waged in the courts.

The case has been cited as one of the key issues sparking some of the worst clashes seen in years at Jerusalem’s Temple Mount compound on Friday and further violence Saturday amid the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

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