JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Named for the crash site of an airforce plane shot down during the Six Day War in 1967, Givat HaMatos may yet prove the place where Palestinian hopes of a creating a capital in Jerusalem also plunge to earth.

‘Airplane Hill’ lies on the southern fringes of Jerusalem’s city limits – rock-strewn land dotted with shabby, prefabricated bungalows and the occasional pine tree.

Once a tranquil backwater, the area has become the focus of hectic activity in the last six months, with Israeli authorities releasing plans for 2,610 housing units and 1,110 hotel rooms.

With the approval process going more quickly than expected, building could start later this year, creating the first new Israeli settlement in 15 years among the sprawl of a modern Jerusalem that is spread out over many hills.

If that happens, it would effectively cut off the city’s mainly Arab neighbourhoods from Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, imperiling the Palestinians’ prospects for establishing a coherent capital and with it their goal of an independent state.

“There is only so much territorial abuse this tortured land can take before we kill the political options of saving the two- state solution,” said Daniel Seidemann, an Israeli attorney who monitors urban developments he thinks affect chances for peace.

“What is happening at Givat HaMatos is a game changer,” he said, his finger tapping a map of the area for added emphasis. “Events are careering out of control.”

JERUSALEM, May 22 (Reuters) – Named for the crash site of an airforce plane shot down during the Six Day War in 1967, Givat HaMatos may yet prove the place where Palestinian hopes of a creating a capital in Jerusalem also plunge to earth.

‘Airplane Hill’ lies on the southern fringes of Jerusalem’s city limits – rock-strewn land dotted with shabby, prefabricated bungalows and the occasional pine tree.

Once a tranquil backwater, the area has become the focus of hectic activity in the last six months, with Israeli authorities releasing plans for 2,610 housing units and 1,110 hotel rooms.

With the approval process going more quickly than expected, building could start later this year, creating the first new Israeli settlement in 15 years among the sprawl of a modern Jerusalem that is spread out over many hills.

If that happens, it would effectively cut off the city’s mainly Arab neighbourhoods from Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, imperilling the Palestinians’ prospects for establishing a coherent capital and with it their goal of an independent state.

“There is only so much territorial abuse this tortured land can take before we kill the political options of saving the two- state solution,” said Daniel Seidemann, an Israeli attorney who monitors urban developments he thinks affect chances for peace.

“What is happening at Givat HaMatos is a game changer,” he said, his finger tapping a map of the area for added emphasis. “Events are careering out of control.”