The price of houses
Sir: What a refreshing change to read such a fair and balanced leader on Har-Homa (22 March). Your readers might not be aware that Har-Homa lies wholly within the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem. If Har-Homa is to be considered a 'settle- ment', then so are Finchley and Maida Vale.
Har-Homa cannot come too soon. The 6,500 homes to be built (assuming that the government does not bow to the inevitable pressure from the United States to delay or even cancel the project) will go some way towards alleviating the chronic housing shortage in the Jerusalem area. A fairly modest family-sized apartment here can cost upwards of $250,000. I have lived in Jerusalem since 1981 and I still cannot fath- om how the average Israeli family can afford such prices.
I would take issue with you when you suggest that many of the (genuine) settlements should be removed. I believe you will find that if (as is likely) the final I status negotiations lead to some form of independence for the Palestinians, albeit federated with Jordan, the majority of the existing settlements will be allowed to remain and so they will not in any way prove to be 'obstacles to peace', as Hanan Ashrawi and others repeatedly proclaim them to be.
J.D. Wiseman
PO Box 16301, Jerusalem, Israel
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