The Jewish community of Carmel, located south of Kiryat Arba-Hevron in the southern Hevron Hills, plans to dedicate its new 10-family neighborhood on Tuesday. Peace Now has charged it is causing "irreversible damage" in the talks with the Palestinian Authority (PA) for a new Arab state.
Carmel is located in an area that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert plans to turn over to the PA, after expelling its Jewish residents. Southern Hevron Hills Regional Council leader Tzviki Bar Chai said that the government cannot "suffocate" the community, which has grown to 90 families from a couple of dozen when it was founded in the mid-1980s.
The government granted permits for the new building several years ago, before the current building freeze was imposed on Jews living in Judea and Samaria.
Knesset Member Effie Eitam (National Union) and Kiryat Arba chief Rabbi Dov Lior are expected to attend Tuesday's ceremonies.
Residents of the religious community said that the only thing lacking in their new houses is a garden, due to Shemittah laws prohibiting planting in the Sabbatical year.
Carmel is one of five Jews communities on or near Highway 60 between Kiryat Arba-Hevron and Arad. It is home to the Reuta yeshiva, which is building a new study hall scheduled for completion by the end of this year.