In further efforts to exercise Israeli sovereignty over the capital, Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert received approval from Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Finance Minister Silvan Shalom to invest NIS 64 million in infrastructure for Arab-populated eastern neighborhoods of the city. In a situation reflecting the ironies of Middle Eastern politics, it was former Prime Minister Ehud Barak of the dovish Labor Party who froze government development funds and neglected the eastern sections of Jerusalem, because he wanted to make it clear to the Palestinian Authority that the division of municipal control was subject to negotiation.
In accordance with his more conservative outlook, Mayor Ehud Olmert is consistently investing substantially more money in basic necessities for Jerusalem’s eastern sections, neglected by previous mayors, spending a total of NIS 196 million. The mayor says that there is only one municipality in Jerusalem, and it will attend to the needs of all neighborhoods in the city.
In accordance with his more conservative outlook, Mayor Ehud Olmert is consistently investing substantially more money in basic necessities for Jerusalem’s eastern sections, neglected by previous mayors, spending a total of NIS 196 million. The mayor says that there is only one municipality in Jerusalem, and it will attend to the needs of all neighborhoods in the city.