Israel to invest $560 million in Palestinian areas of Jerusalem

JERUSALEM — The Israeli government on Thursday unveiled what it billed as a groundbreaking program to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in long-neglected Palestinian neighborhoods of east Jerusalem.

The “Leading Change” program aims to reduce the huge social gaps between the Palestinian neighborhoods and the Jewish western part of the city. Palestinian neighborhoods suffer from poor infrastructure, neglect and subpar public services, and nearly 80 percent of the city’s Palestinian families live in poverty.

The program will invest 2 billion shekels, or $560 million, in three core areas: education, infrastructure and helping Palestinian women enter the work force. The money will be spent on a variety of programs, including nine pilot projects, in the next five years, with the aim of attracting further government and private investment down the road.

Various government ministries, along with the city of Jerusalem, will carry out the program, which was launched at a ceremony at President Reuven Rivlin’s official Thursday.

Rivlin, a proponent of coexistence, praised what he called “the most comprehensive attempt by the government to date to narrow the gaps and to develop the economy” of east Jerusalem.

Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed the area in a move that is not internationally recognized. Israel considers east Jerusalem an inseparable part of its capital, while the Palestinians seek the area as the capital of a future state. residence