Jerusalem24– The Ministry of Construction and Housing published on Thursday a tender for the construction of 1,560 housing units in the Katzrin settlement in the northern occupied Golan Heights.
The Ministry of Construction and Housing announced it will follow the “plan and build” method, according to which and as per the terms of the tender, one company will be responsible for planning, development, as well as construction of public infrastructure and residential buildings for 1,560 housing units, educational institutions, public institutions, tourism and commercial areas in one complex.
The settlement units will be developed on state land.
The plan was originally approved in December 2021, three years after former US President Donald Trump recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which Israel seized from Syria in 1967 and has occupied since.
The announcement comes as part of the Israeli government’s decision to further expand demographic growth in the occupied Golan as well as the Negev desert within the next few years.
The Ministry of Construction and Housing expects the number of settlers living in Katzrin will double, with hopes of it becoming the main city in the Eastern Galilee cluster in the near future.
Head of Katzrin Local Council, Dimi Apartsev: “Over the next three decades, we expect Katzrin will become a city of 60,000 residents, and will be not only the capital of the Golan but a significant city for the entire Galilee.”
