Silwan / Jerusalem -

Silwan is the town most attached to the historic wall of Jerusalem and the southern garrison of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque. On 12 neighborhoods with an area of ​​5,640 dunums.

There are 59,000 Jerusalemites living in Silwan, in addition to 2,800 settlers planted by the occupation force in 78 outposts in the town, according to Fakhri Abu Diab, a member of the Silwan Land Defense Committee.

The threat of forced displacement surrounds about 7,500 people living in 6 neighborhoods in Silwan, who are threatened either to demolish their homes under the pretext of building without a permit, or to evict them and expel them for the benefit of the Israeli settlement associations.

Abu Diab says that the occupation municipality crews in Jerusalem have so far delivered 6,817 demolition orders for homes in 6 neighborhoods in Silwan.

These are the most prominent neighborhoods threatened with mass displacement:

Wadi Hilweh neighborhood

It is the neighborhood adjacent to the southern wall of the Old City and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. It extends over an area of ​​750 dunums and has a population of 5,000.

Many homes are threatened by Israeli excavations below this neighborhood.

Because of this, Abu Diab says that 128 homes are threatened with collapse, in addition to 5 homes that are threatened with seizure under the Absentee Property Law, and 11 others that received demolition orders on the pretext that their owners did not obtain building permits, while 42 settlement outposts have been planted in the neighborhood so far.

Al Bustan District

It extends over an area of ​​70 dunums, and is home to 1,550 Jerusalemites, distributed over 109 houses, 10 of which have been demolished so far.

Currently, the threat of demolition - on the pretext of building without a permit - threatens 97 homes, 17 of which fall under the Israeli "Kaminitz" law.

Accordingly, a few days ago, the occupation gave the owners of 13 of them a 3-week period to self-demolish them.

These houses in particular cannot resort to the courts to stop or postpone the demolition process, and the deadline for their owners expires on Sunday (27 June).

The Israeli Knesset enacted the "Kaminitz Law" in 2017, with the aim of combating Palestinian urban expansion under the pretext of building without a permit.

The occupation seeks to expedite the process of demolishing the homes of Al-Bustan neighborhood to establish a “national park” called “King’s Garden” to commemorate the place that was - according to the Israeli version - “a garden for King David.”

Batn Al-Hawa neighborhood in Silwan (Al-Jazeera)

Batn Al-Hawa neighborhood

It is part of the middle neighborhood, one of the neighborhoods of Silwan. The Ateret Cohanim settlement association claims ownership of 5 dunams and 200 square meters in it.

Residents here were given eviction orders for 86 homes, in which 726 Jerusalemites live.

Settlement penetration began in the neighborhood in 2004 with two settlement outposts, then escalated in 2014 to reach 6 outposts in which 23 settler families live.

Ateret Cohanim claims that the ownership of the houses in the neighborhood belongs to Jews of Yemeni origin before 1948. In 2018, the "Yemeni Jewry Heritage Center" was opened in it, claiming that a synagogue belonged to them was located there and bears the name "House of Honey".

The historical Greek monastery, which is located in the Wadi Al-Rababa neighborhood in Silwan (Al-Jazeera)

Wadi Al Rababah neighborhood

It is located on the western side of Silwan town, and the valley occupies an area of ​​about 210 dunams, in which 800 Jerusalemites live in harsh conditions, due to the harassment of the various occupation forces seeking to expel them.

The threat of forced displacement here threatens 405 Jerusalemites who are awaiting a bleak fate if their homes are demolished.

Wadi Yasoul neighborhood

It extends over an area of ​​310 dunums and is inhabited by 1,050 Jerusalemites. Decisions have been issued to demolish 84 houses in it under the pretext of building without licenses. About 600 people live in these houses.

Ain Al-Loza neighborhood

It covers an area of ​​870 dunums, and is inhabited by 3,400 people. The owners of 283 houses in which have received orders to demolish them on the pretext of also not having a license.

The rest of the demolition orders are distributed to other neighborhoods in Silwan, and these threats also affect 3 mosques as well.

On-going and pending projects

The researcher in settlement affairs, Ahmed Sub Laban, said that the town of Silwan is being targeted by settlements through projects implemented by the government directly or through settlement associations, led by Elad and Ateret Cohanim.

He added - to Al Jazeera Net - that the town is targeted with 10 settlement projects, some of which have been implemented and some are awaiting approval in the Israeli planning and construction departments.

The most prominent of the "settlement tourism" projects is the so-called "City of David", a project that Israel is proud to receive about one million foreign and Israeli tourists annually.

The City of David sign referring to the settlement project in the Wadi Hilweh neighborhood (Al-Jazeera)

This project was built in Wadi Hilweh, south of Al-Aqsa, and the occupation is trying to expand it by building a "Givati" car park, which consists of 6 floors and also includes a commercial center.

This building will be adjacent to the historic Old City wall and its height is equal to the height of the wall, which contradicts the same Israeli organizational and building frameworks that forbid the construction of buildings adjacent to the historical walls that are comparable in height or superior to them and block the view from them.

Another controversial project, through which Israel seeks to connect west of Jerusalem with its east, is the "air train" that will transport tourists between the two parts of the city and mainly affect the neighborhoods of Wadi Hilweh and Wadi Rababa in Silwan.

As for the “air bridge” settlement project, which Israel claims is a tourist attraction;

It will be 240 meters long and 30 meters high, and will start from Al-Thawri neighborhood, pass through the lands of Wadi Al-Rababa, and reach the Waqf Al-Dajani area southwest of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The settlement projects are not implemented on the surface of the earth, but rather extend to its interior, according to the researcher Sub Laban, who touched on the “Pilgrims’ March Tunnel” project, through which the occupation aims to connect the water spring in Silwan to the Al-Buraq Wall area through a tunnel currently being built under the homes of Jerusalemites in Wadi Hilweh. Occasionally, landslides and cracks occur in this neighborhood due to the continuous excavations.

In addition, Sub Laban says that the Israeli government and settlement associations do not stop presenting projects to establish air paths, land, public parks, and restaurants in Silwan areas, with the aim of encouraging settlement tourism and bringing it to the heart of Palestinian neighborhoods.

"Through these projects, they want to brainwash the tourists by creating a Jewish character above and below the ground, and controlling the story by Israeli guides and tour guides," he said.

lofty effects

In order to find out the most prominent archaeological sites in Silwan, Al Jazeera Net went to the tour guide Bashar Abu Shamsia, who said that Ain Silwan is one of the most prominent landmarks of the town, pointing to the connection of many popular stories to this place.

Abu Shamsia touched on the importance of the Umayyad palaces located in Silwan, which were built by the Umayyads more than 1,300 years ago, adjacent to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and they still preserve their features despite the damage they were subjected to due to the factors of nature, wars and attempts to Judaize.

Silwan also includes historical tombs from the Greek period that were found “for sanctification, blessing and immortal life after death,” as was believed at that period, among them the huge “Tantour Pharaoh” tombs, which are located on the road between Silwan and Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Wadi al-Rababa, according to the tourist guide, is not free of the effects left by successive civilizations, most notably the Greek “Monastery of Repentance,” which was established in 1893 to perpetuate the suicide incident of “Judas Iscariot,” one of Jesus’s disciples, and here he hung himself on a tree regretting the surrender of Christ. In preparation for his trial and crucifixion.

Abu Shamsia says that each valley of Silwan included a wheat mill at its end, in addition to many Canaanite monuments located within the "City of David" settlement project.