A prominent Israeli settler advocacy organization has formally submitted a zoning application to construct an entirely new Jewish residential district in the historically contested Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of East Jerusalem. The group, Amara, a decades-old settler movement that has led decades of settlement expansion across occupied Palestinian territories, filed its formal building proposal with the local Jerusalem planning authorities to develop 122 residential units on the long-vacant former site of the Shepherd Hotel.
The historic Shepherd Hotel, widely known locally as the “Mufti’s House,” was commissioned in the 1930s as a residence for Haj Amin al-Husseini, the former grand mufti of Jerusalem, though the high-ranking religious figure never took up occupancy in the completed structure. The building was fully razed by authorities in 2009, leaving an empty plot that has remained undeveloped for more than 14 years. This proposed project marks Amara’s first ever planned settlement development within the boundaries of Sheikh Jarrah, an area that has been the site of repeated Palestinian resident evictions and intercommunal tensions over recent years. The formal application is set to receive its first procedural review during a public hearing before Jerusalem’s Local Planning and Building Committee scheduled for 11 November.
The announcement of the settlement planning filing coincides with the launch of a large-scale ongoing Israeli military operation centered on the West Bank city of Hebron. Since the siege commenced, Israeli security forces have confirmed the detention of no fewer than 20 Palestinian residents, while the United Nations and local humanitarian groups estimate more than 2,200 local people have been displaced by the sweeping military incursion.
Reporting from the official Palestinian news agency Wafa documents that Israeli troops have entered nearly every residential neighbourhood across Hebron, conducting systematic home raids, subjecting local civilians to physical and verbal mistreatment, and arresting dozens of residents. Beyond the city limits, military units also conducted coordinated raids in the adjacent southern West Bank towns of Dura, Yatta and as-Samu, detaining 11 Palestinians following forced entries into private family homes and documented instances of abuse. An additional two Palestinian residents were taken into custody in the town of Tarqumiya, west of Hebron, with more detentions reported in the northern Hebron area town of Halhul.
Wafa’s on-the-ground correspondents also verified that Israeli forces have seized multiple privately owned Palestinian homes across Hebron, repurposing them as temporary military barracks and permanent observation outposts. The seized properties converted for military use are concentrated in the southern Hebron districts of Khallat Manna and Dahiyat al-Zaytoun.
This report originates from independent regional news outlet Middle East Eye, which delivers dedicated, on-the-ground coverage of events across the Middle East and North Africa.
Israeli settler group submits proposals for new Jewish settlement in Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood
