RAMALLAH, January 10 (JMCC) - Palestinian-American businessman Bashar Masri has set his sights on owning a failing construction company responsible for Jewish-only housing in East
Jerusalem.
Bashar Masri, a West Bank native who holds American citizenship, has offered to buy debt-burdened Digal Investment and Holdings Ltd., which has been building the 400-unit Nof Zion housing project overlooking the Old City.
Bondholders of the struggling company met late Sunday night to discuss Masri's bid as well as a competing one, but no decision was announced. Attorneys for the bondholders did not return phone calls.
If successful, Masri said, he plans to sell the remaining 300-plus units to Palestinian buyers. To date, Digal has completed the first phase of the project, and sold the units only to Jewish buyers, including many religious families.
The takeover would mark a rare instance of a Palestinian entrepreneur winning control of a housing project that had been targeted at Jewish buyers in East Jerusalem. In most cases, Jewish developers have been buying property in Arab neighborhoods to establish a Jewish presence, despite criticism from Palestinian and international groups who say such provocative construction hinders Mideast peace talks.
Read the story at the LA Times...