The area of Wadi Hilweh witnesses frequent structural collapses during the past two years. The first signs of structural degradations were noticed in early 2008 on the main street of Wadi Hilweh. Only after these collapses began did the Palestinian residents of Silwan Discovered that Israelis were digging a network of tunnels under their homes and streets. The residents of  Wadi Hilweh noted that there were several cracks in the walls of their homes and that they heard voices of whose origin they could not identify. Since the first collapse, cracks have continued to appear in the homes of residents of Silwan. Although much fanfare was made after the collapse of an UNRWA girls school in February 2009 (the only school in Wadi Hilwah) the collapse of many cracks and collapses in homes in Silwan has been ignored. UNRWA did not cooperate with Silwani residents who tried to investigate the causes of the collapse in the school.  According to various media and the views of the population the cause of the collapse in the school are the same Israeli excavations, whose existence the municipality of Jerusalem has denied.

The Street Collapse On 2008 – Wadi Hilweh, Silwan.

A floor of one room in a Palestinian House near the Moroccan Square or Mughrabi Square- ”Givati” Area.

Again at the end of 2009 and the beginning of the new year, new landslides appeared in the Wadi Hilwah main street. This time their were different opinions of the source of the collapses , After the first collapse, the popular committee of silwan demanded the municipality and Mayor Barkat to investigate the source of the collapse. Before the investigation could be launched a second street collapse occurred. The popular committee demanded an investigation for the second time following the new collapses. Their demands have gone unanswered as of yet.

Collapse of Wadi Hilweh main street on end of 2009

A second collapse in the same street on mid of January 2010

Near the site of the last two street collapses, and under the Silwan mosque, the Jewish settler organization Elad (an acronym for “El Ir David”; “Towards the cit of David”) is conducting excavations under the auspices of archeaology. The Mosque has suffered serious cracks in its walls and floors. Recently, water has twice overflowed and flooded the Mosque.

Silwan Mosque

The residents of Wadi Hilweh express their fear that their neighborhood will collapse entirely. After there are rains, the streets are more likely to collapse and visible damage can be seen in the streets as they dry.

Wadi Hilweh main street- Silwan

The collapse of main street of Wadi Hilweh on end of 2009

Same Last Cavity Collapsed a Second Time

A Piece Of Land Fell Behind The Silwan Mosque And Kindergarden- 1st of March 2010

A floor of a Palestinian House in Silwan

Palestinian Houses In Silwan Are Not Safe Place For Children Anymore.

Cracks in the walls of a Palestinian House- Wadi Hilweh, Silwan.

The Landslide in early 2008

Workers repairing landslide- on 2008