The Elad settlement association received 28 million shekels or roughly $7.9 million to support Judaization projects in Wadi Rababah neighborhood in Silwan town south of Al-Aqsa Mosque according to the daily Haaretz.
The Hebrew newspaper revealed that the Elad settlement association has established public parks agricultural projects and developed a new tourism hub at the expense of the original owners of the land stripping their rights and preventing the Palestinian geographical expansion in Silwan.
According to the paper the settlement project run by Elad is supported by several Israeli institutions including the Jerusalem Municipality Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority the Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Ministry and the Jerusalem Development Authority.
The Elad Association which is considered the spearhead of the illegal settlement in Jerusalem revealed a project in Silwan called “Farm in the Valley” to attract thousands of settlers to the occupied city of Jerusalem as part of the so-called “national park” which was established on Palestinian land.
According to Haaretz the Elad group pursues the declared objective of “Judaizing” East Jerusalem including Silwan as part of its mission to expand Jewish presence across the occupied city and to uproot the indigenous Palestinian population under the guise of archeological and touristic endeavors.
Elad is considered one of the richest non-governmental organizations in the entity and it supervises about 70 settlement outposts in Silwan most of which are located in the Wadi Hilweh area which is the closest area to Al-Aqsa and funds the Israeli excavations in the area.
