Arab village of Lifta, abandoned in ▰, to house new Israeli neighborhood
The western neighborhood in Jerusalem which was abandoned in 1948 will be resettled with 259 housing units, including a luxury hotel.
The Israel Lands Authority (ILA), the government body charged with public land management, announced on Monday - Jerusalem Day - the opening of bids for construction companies to take charge of the development of the Lifta neighborhood in Jerusalem.
The development plan, once signed, will be in effect for 98 years, with the ability to extend the deal at a later point.
It will include 259 housing units, as well as areas sectioned off for trade and commerce, in addition to space for a hotel.
The winner of the bid will be responsible for initial construction costs, such as water and plumbing.
Lifta - Mei Neftoach in Hebrew - is the western-most neighborhood in Jerusalem, was abandoned in 1948 and is the last Arab town inside Jerusalem from that time that has yet to be resettled.
In 2017, Lifta was declared a national nature reserve by Israel.
In 2010, Ynet noted, a bid was published by the ILA, but faced opposition from various organizations, including Rabbis for Human Rights, a body of rabbis focused on Israeli and Palestinian human rights.
Yakoub Odeh, 81, was eight-years-old when the town was abandoned, and expressed the anger felt by others: We are in pain and in shock... This decision is illegal, he told Ynet.
Mazal tov Jerusalem! Former-Jerusalem Municipality councilmember Yair Gabbai announced on his Facebook page on Monday.
After years of delays the ILA published a public bid notice for rebuilding the new neighborhood in Lifta.
Gabbai added that a synagogue will be added to the neighborhood as well, writing that it is exciting and symbolic that this is taking place on Jerusalem Day.
The tender brochure will be published in detail on 4 July 2021.
A copy of the brochure can be obtained from the offices of the Israel Lands Authority at *5575 or +972 (0)3-9653333
Photo: View of Lifta, the ethnically cleansed Palestinian Arab village on the outskirts of Jerusalem, 8 March 2017. Source: Yonatan Sindel/Flash 90).
See also:
Palestinian Heritage Site of Lifta, Land Times, Issue 16 (October 2018)
Boutique hotel to open in the abandoned Palestinian village of Lifta (Jerusalem Post)
Welcome to Lifta, District of Jerusalem (Palestine Remembered)
Lifta (Zochrot)
