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Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904823804576502553591202830.html?
Israel Will Advance Plans for Homes in Disputed Area
(Wall Street Journal) Joshua Mitnick - Israel said it is advancing public construction projects for thousands of new homes in contested East Jerusalem in response to a wave of domestic protests over the cost of living. Israel is accelerating building plans to ease a housing shortage that has pushed real-estate prices up by more than a third in three years, triggering mass demonstrations nationwide. An aide to Israeli Interior Minister Eli Yishai, spokesman Roei Lachmanovich, said the project approvals in East Jerusalem are meant to satisfy the public outcry in Israel about a lack of affordable housing. "We need to build in Jerusalem. There is no room in the center of Jerusalem, so we are building in these places.'' Israel considers East Jerusalem, which it captured and annexed after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, part of its sovereign territory.