Occupied Jerusalem

- In less than 24 hours, Jerusalemites expressed their anger at the massacre carried out by the occupation forces in the Jenin camp in the northern West Bank, in which 9 Palestinians were martyred, through two shooting operations. 13 years old, the second attack in the town of Silwan, adjacent to Al-Aqsa Mosque.

While the Jerusalemite minor was walking around the place, Israeli security sources stated that he pointed his weapon at two settlers, and the operation took place in Wadi Hilweh, the most crowded neighborhood of Silwan, and resulted in the injury of two of them, who were described as seriously injured.

According to Israeli sources, a Jerusalemite minor attacked two settlers with a pistol, wounding them in the Wadi Hilweh neighborhood (Reuters)

occupation force

The Wadi Hilweh neighborhood is adjacent to the southern wall of the Old City and the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, and extends over an area of ​​750 dunams (a dunam is a thousand square meters), with a population of about 6,500 Jerusalemites, according to a member of the Committee for the Defense of the Lands of Silwan Fakhri Abu Diab, who indicated that 1,217 settlers live in 56 settlement outpost in the same neighborhood.

In addition to the settlers who live with the occupation force in this neighborhood, another thousand settlers work as employees in the so-called "City of David" settlement, or as workers, observers, and guards in the outposts that they establish on the ruins of Palestinian homes and lands, and they spend long hours in the neighborhood daily.

In addition, Israeli excavations under this neighborhood threaten many homes, and because of them, Abu Dhiab says that 128 homes are threatened with collapse, in addition to 5 homes threatened with seizure under the pretext of the Israeli "Absentee Property Law", and 11 others received demolition orders under the pretext of "building without a permit." ".

settlement infiltration for decades

The "City of David" is the largest and most dangerous settlement project perched on top of the lands of the Wadi Hilweh neighborhood. It is a settlement city that was established in 1986 at the entrance to the town of Silwan, adjacent to Al-Aqsa Mosque. In this particular town.

According to Radwan Amr, a researcher on Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque affairs, teams of guides and tour guides belong to this association, supervising Silwan, and controlling the channels and underground tunnels towards Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Israel is proud that the "City of David" receives about one million foreign and Israeli tourists annually as a main stop during their visit to Jerusalem and their storming of Al-Aqsa through the Al-Buraq Wall.

Settlement groups promote the idea that this part of Silwan is the "City of David", and mix many historical issues in order to present the Jewish narrative after deliberately destroying many Islamic stages and ignoring them in search of alleged Jewish historical layers.

Although the excavation work has been going on for many years now, the occupation has not found any trace of the alleged "temple", which they claim refers to the Jewishness of the place.

The town of Silwan is one of the most targeted towns in Jerusalem for settlement through projects implemented directly by the Israeli government, or through settlement associations, headed by "El-Ad" and "Ateret Cohanim".

According to the researcher in settlement affairs, Ahmed Sub Laban, the town is targeted by 10 settlement projects, some of which have been implemented, and some of which are awaiting approval in the Israeli planning and construction departments.

The researcher touched on the "Givati" parking project, which consists of 6 floors and also includes a commercial center as part of the expansion works of the "City of David" settlement project.

This building will abut the historic Old City wall and be equal to it in height, which is contrary to the same Israeli planning and construction frameworks that prevent the construction of buildings adjacent to the historic walls equal to or greater in height and obscure the view from them.

As well as another project through which Israel seeks to link western Jerusalem with its east, targeting Wadi Hilweh, 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 Al-Rababa in the town of Silwan.

A banner bearing the title "City of David" and referring to the large settlement project in the Wadi Hilweh neighborhood of Silwan (Al-Jazeera)

Hell of life among the settlers

Since the start of the settlement infiltration into the Wadi Hilweh neighborhood through the seizure of Jerusalemites' real estate, the life of the neighborhood's residents has turned into hell next to the settlers, who, along with their guards, limit their living space daily in this strategic location near the Old City of Jerusalem.

The shooting attack that targeted settlers today, Saturday, tens of meters away from Al-Aqsa Mosque and Al-Buraq Square, in which Jews perform their prayers and biblical rituals, deepens the crisis of the security establishment after the synagogue operation in the "Nabi Jacob" settlement on Friday evening, which is still topping the talk of the media and Palestinian communities. And the Israeli.

The recent shooting in Silwan cannot be separated from the occupation authorities' seizure of "Al-Hamra land" located at the end of the Wadi Hilweh neighborhood about a month ago, and from the attempts to fully control the historic Ain Silwan about a week ago.

About 59,000 Jerusalemites live in the town of Silwan, according to activist Fakhri Abu Dhiab, and the threat of forced displacement surrounds about 7,500 of them who live in 6 neighborhoods, and they are threatened with either demolishing their homes under the pretext of building without a permit, or expelling them in favor of Israeli settlement associations.