The governmental agency of the Israeli Antiquities Authority has halted the “enhancement of City of David features” project in the main street of Wadi Hilweh in Silwan, spearheaded by the Jerusalem municipality. While the Authority claims that important archaeological remains have been found under the street, residents of Silwan fear that the entire road will be closed for digging and business and residential traffic will become paralyzed.
Local committees in Silwan believe that the digging project is part of a greater plan to expand the “City of David” Jewish archeological site, located in the Palestinian neighborhood of Wadi Hilweh. The Israeli government has made no secret of its intentions, even publicizing its plans to transform the East Jerusalem neighborhood into a Jewish tourist site. Residents have protested the digging which furthers Israeli land claims and leaves buildings and roads damaged from the excavation, using local committees as a platform to inform others about the hidden objectives of these projects.
An interview with a Wadi Hilweh resident living near the blockaded section of Wadi Hilweh’s main street states: “What they [Israeli Antiquities Authroity] found is an old sanitation channel; they are finding scrap remains sometimes.” The resident also comments on the historical destruction caused by the so-called archeological digging projects: “They have removed an Islamic cemetery that was over 1,000 years old. It was found in the Bab el-Maghrabi garden. Now it is an Israeli parking lot.” The resident says that Silwan residents do not trust the Israeli authorities and in several community meetings concerns were expressed about the full closure of Wadi Hilweh street, the main thoroughfare of the neighborhood.
Wadi Hilweh is the lifeblood of the region of Silwan. It connects Silwan to the Old City, and Palestinian public transportation used by the majority of Silwan residents. Currently, the municipality has closed the street in one directed to implement a project focusing supposedly on “enhancing City of David features”. This closure however, does not affect the “City of David” Jewish tourist site because the street closure does not include the section of Wadi Hilweh street which contains the entrance to the attraction. This selective street closure ensures that the Palestinian residents of Silwan, not the tourists or Jewish settlers, feel the impact of this decision.
The “City of David” settlement includes an archaeological site, visitors’ center, and residential units for settlers located in south Haram al-Sharif at the north entrance of the Wadi Hilweh neighborhood of Silwan. The “City of David” settlement was built on the land of Palestinian residents Fatima Shehadeh Qaraeen and the Samreen family. The vast majority of official Israeli documents for the region refer to the Wadi Hilweh region of Silwan as “City of David.” Work began in April of this year in the neighborhood of Wadi Hilweh to “improve to features of the City of David,” states official Jerusalem Municipality docuements. Representatives from neighborhood of Wadi Hilweh believe that this project is the introduction of the town plan scheme 11555, which will confiscate about 70% of the territory of the Wadi Hilweh.
