Prime Minister Ehud Olmert met with Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef on Monday and promised him that the government would approve the construction of hundreds of new apartments in the hareidi-religious city of Beitar Illit. Members of Knesset from the hareidi-religious Shas and United Torah Judaism (UTJ) parties expressed anger recently over the housing shortage in the area.
Olmert defended his decision to allow the construction despite promises to freeze Jewish growth in Judea and Samaria. Beitar Illit “is not a settlement,” he said, and Israel has made it clear that it plans to maintain sovereignty over Jerusalem and “settlement blocs” such as Gush Etzion. “We don’t hide our views” on areas that Israel plans to keep, he said.