Jerusalem may become home to a giant Apple store and education center within three years. Apple is negotiating with real-estate giant Bet Yair for a 5,000-square-meter facility at the entrance to Jerusalem, people familiar with the matter told "The Jerusalem Post" (http://macte.ch/A0y0V).

The facility is planned to hold the world’s first Apple Digital Library, which would be open to the public, the article adds. The directors of Apple in Israel recently toured the site and reportedly said they wanted to bring the country’s largest Apple store to Jerusalem for symbolic reasons, reports "The Post."

Also, Apple plans to open a German retail store in Dresden's suburban mall on Thursday, March 31, at 8 am , according to "9to5Mac" (http://macte.ch/Et9s3). The company’s fifth retail spot in Germany is located on the ground floor of Dresden’s suburban, high-trafficked shopping mall in Altmarkt Galerie (Old Market Gallery), the article adds.

Meanwhile, "ifoAppleStore" (http://www.ifoapplestore.com) says New York City’s smallest Apple store, the SoHo location, may finally be scheduled for an expansion into an adjacent space. Building permits were issued earlier this month for certain demolition work in the basement of the store at 103 Prince Street, and core samples are being drilled out of the ground in front of the store, the article adds.

Apple is also expected to open new stores shortly in Italy, Paris, Palo Alto and even Anchorage, Alaska.