For the first time since the Six-Day War, 250 new acres were recently attached to the territory of the city of Jerusalem completing a multi-year process enabling the municipality to build a new residential neighborhood in Jerusalem with 2,000 housing units.
In 2009 the Interior Ministry's Border Committee held its first meeting to discuss the possibility of transferring a 250 acre area adjacent to the Arnona neighborhood from the Yehuda Regional Council and Kibbutz Ramat Rachel's jurisdiction to that of the Jerusalem municipality.
The area was once an agricultural area of Kibbutz Ramat Rachel. The municipality recently received an official letter from the Interior Minister announcing transfer of the demarcated area.
Consequently, the Jerusalem municipality, together with the Housing Ministry and the Israel Lands Authority, plan to build the Mordot Arnona neighborhood including more than 2,000 housing units in the area.
The approval of the residential Mordot Arnona neighborhood and its transfer to the jurisdiction of the Jerusalem municipality enabled government authorities to develop and market the neighborhood.
The program was already approved and enacted by the District Committee and the land is currently being marketed- a process that is expected to take about a year - prior to issuing the building permits.
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said that "we are bolstering and expanding Jerusalem. In the 50th year of its reunification, it continues to grow and develop. Establishment of the new neighborhood will allow us to attract young families to the city, to better respond to the housing demand in the city, and of course to strengthen Jerusalem as Israel's capital."