The Israeli municipality of Jerusalem decided to confiscate dozens of dunums from the Palestinian town of Silwan to the south of Al-Aqsa Mosque under the cover of the so-called gardening which includes planting and installing irrigation channels and roads for walking.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center (WHIC) in Silwan said in a statement that the crews of the Israeli municipality put maps of the confiscated lands in the Wadi al-Rababah and Abbasiya neighborhoods noting that the posters read “Intention to garden empty lands.”
False claims
The center added that this Israeli move threatens tens of dunums of the land of Silwan from the neighborhoods of Wadi al-Rababah Wadi Hilweh Beer Ayyub and Nabi Daoud. This land belongs to the residents and families of the town who have all the documents and deeds.
In its statement WHIC refuted the municipality’s claim that the land was empty.
Jawad Siam Director of WHIC said that all the area was planted with olives figs and berries for decades. The residents have been prevented from planting trees for years. They are also being arrested and threatened by the so-called Israeli Nature Authority when they do any construction work in their lands. The bulldozers of the occupation level the lands and demolish facilities built there especially in the area of Wadi al-Rababah which the occupation authorities consider public parks.
Siam added that the municipality of the occupation claims that the confiscation order for gardening will be in effect for a temporary period of five years according to the announcement explaining that the occupation authorities be it the Municipality the Nature Authority or the Antiquities Authority put their hands on the lands of the town of Silwan in various crooked ways.
The confiscated area is considered one of the most targeted areas in the town of Silwan for the benefit of Israeli settlement projects and parts of it are being drilled for the establishment of the Pedestrian Bridge which will link the Al-Thawri neighborhood and the Nabi Daoud area through the Wadi al-Rababah neighborhood Siam said adding that in the same area construction is under way to build a restaurant as well as roads for settlers and tourists in addition to digging fake graves.
WHICH Director pointed out that the land intended for confiscation for the so-called ‘gardening works’ is the remaining land for the residents of Silwan to build houses schools and public parks but the Israeli municipality refuses to grant the residents building permits demolishing any facility built there under the claim of not obtaining a permit.
The goal is confiscation
The families that own the lands threatened by confiscation confirmed that they have the right to the land to carry out agriculture work and build irrigation channels but the occupation authorities prevent them and prosecute them in the event of doing any work on their land even if it was cleaning.
The residents of Silwan stressed that the new Israeli decision aims to confiscate the land permanently.
They added that the occupation authorities confiscated and closed parts of Al Ain Al Hamra area in the Wadi Hilweh area years ago at the pretext of ‘improving the public benefit.’ It was considered the entrance to the kindergarten and the mosque of the neighborhood but the occupation authorities confiscated this land and prevented people from using it. It is now controlled by the Elad settlement group. In Ras al-Amud neighborhood in the town the occupation authorities announced its intention to turn the building of the police station in the area into public benefit and then turned it into a Jewish-only neighborhood.
The residents pointed out that they would appeal to the concerned authorities to protect their lands from these plans and to demand their improvement and cultivation including installing canals and fences without any restrictions and obstacles from the occupation authorities.
