On November 3rd, the Jerusalem Planning Committee approved building permits for the construction of 181 units in Mordot Gilo West (Plan No 13157). Of the 181 units approved, 113 are the same units previously “approved” on January 13. (Since the developers asked for certain waivers regarding the permit, they were required to publish those waivers and bring it back to the Committee). The remaining 69 units are being developed by an ultra-Orthodox non-profit developer, Kiryat Melech. It appears likely that these units were the ones taken off the agenda in September 2016, on the eve of the meeting between Netanyahu and Obama. All of these approved building permits relate to residential units that were included in the tenders for 708 units published in November 2013 and awarded in August 2014. For background, see here.
With the planning process and the tenders completed, the final stage of the licensing/permit process is underway. While these latest approvals mean that, in principle, construction could start immediately, in practice there are still a number of technical requirements that need be fulfilled before the actual permits are issued. Our assessment is that in a few weeks – or at the extreme, a few months – construction can commence.