ISRAEL: Israeli authorities claim many of the dwellings were illegally built, writes Nuala Haughey in Jerusalem
It is the site of the original prehistoric settlement of Jerusalem dating back to the biblical period of King David who established the city as the capital of ancient Israel.
Today, this densely populated Palestinian neighbourhood takes its Arab name, Silwan, from a 2,700-year-old bathing pool which is being excavated. Now the Israeli authorities want to restore a biblical feeling to this part of the Holy City where prophets once walked amid orchards of pomegranates and figs.
To fulfil its plans for a national park in the area, Jerusalem Municipality intends to raze some 79 Palestinian homes, displacing about 1,000 people.
If the proposal wins court approval, it would be one of the largest single planned demolitions in Jerusalem since Israel annexed the Arab eastern sector of the city during the Six Day War in 1967.
The local authority says the houses it wants to demolish were constructed illegally in land consistently designated as public open space for 80 years, dating back to the British Mandate era.
But Silwan's residents claim the move is part of the Jewish city authorities' continuing attempts to wipe out the Arab population of annexed East Jerusalem, which Palestinians want as the capital of any future state. Human rights groups opposing the plan say the municipality's insistence that it is merely enforcing zoning laws and promoting Jerusalem's historical heritage is just another weapon in the Israel-Palestinian conflict as it is daily played out in this contested city.
"The archaeological ruins are just a pretext," said Dr Meir Margalit of the campaigning group, the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions.
"It's true that it's a place of very important archaeological ruins from the time of King David but it is also clear that if Jews lived there nobody would plan to demolish houses." Dr Margalit acknowledges that many of the houses were built illegally without permits, but says this is a red herring.
"This is a political issue," he said. "We believe the decision comes from the prime minister's office, not the municipality, and it's part of an agreement which [ Prime Minister] Ariel Sharon has made with the right wing parties according to which the government will evict the settlers of the Gaza Strip and in exchange will strengthen the settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank." But Jerusalem Municipality's city engineer Uri Shetrit denies the plan is politically driven. "I am talking to you with my hands clear and my heart clean - it's full crap, Bolshevik propaganda," he said of the claims.
Mr Shetrit said the city's efforts to enforce the zoning laws in the area date back seven years, long before this summer's plans to evacuate Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip. He accuses critics of trying to inflame matters for their own political agenda.
He insists the municipality is even-handed in enforcing building codes in all parts of the city, but Palestinians and Israeli human rights activists maintain that Israel uses zoning and other regulations in East Jerusalem to prevent the growth of the Arab population. The city engineer said he was willing to look into alternative land parcels in East Jerusalem for the families facing eviction, but this was not part of the "formal process".
The part of Silwan slated to be cleared is a downhill walk from the walls of Jerusalem's Old City and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and is known to Israelis as the King's Valley and Arabs as Al-Bustan.
Amid the minarets and distinctive flat-roof Arab dwellings, Israeli flags flap from some houses, a sign that illegal Jewish settlers live there.
Palestinian residents say the plan will help connect these enclaves to a network of illegal Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem, a claim which Mr Shetrit dismisses as "sheer nonsense".
"We hope that they will stop the demolition but the members of the Israeli government, if they decide something they will do it," said Ziad Zedani (50), a father of nine who has received notice that the municipality is seeking a court order to have his house demolished. "I am going to stay here on my house, even if they demolish it I am going to stay here in a tent."
• Israel released 398 Palestinian prisoners yesterday in an attempt to support Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president.
Mr Abbas, who came out of hospital yesterday after heart surgery, faces difficulties because Palestinians believe his election has not led to any real improvement in their lives or an easing of the occupation.
The prisoner release is the second by Israel this year.
(Guardian Service)