JERUSALEM, August 11, 2018 (WAFA) – Israel is using the pretense of gardening works to take over what little land is left for residents of Silwan neighborhood in occupied East Jerusalem, the director of Wadi Hilweh Information Center Jawad Siam said on Saturday.
He said the lands the Israeli municipality of West Jerusalem intends to seize for the so-called "gardening works" are what has remained for the residents of Silwan to build homes, schools and public areas.
Siam told WAFA that the municipality refuses to grant building permits for Silwan residents and therefore demolishes any facility under the pretext of construction without a permit.
He explained that all the land in question is planted with trees for decades, but landowners are prevented by the municipality to plant more trees in it.
The Israeli municipality claimed that the gardening includes planting trees, installing irrigation networks, creating geotechnical strips, developing landscapes, arranging hiking routes and installing benches.
Siam pointed out that the municipality claims that the takeover is for gardening purposes and for a temporary period, and, according to the announcement, for five years.
The Palestinian landowners said they should have the right, more than the municipality, to do the gardening work on their land. However, they said that every time they attempt to work on their land and to even clean it, the Israeli authorities stop them.
According to the Wadi Hilweh Information Center, residents of Silwan said that the municipality uses this pretense to permanently seize their land. They said the municipality did the same thing with other lands in Silwan under the pretext of takeover for public use, which it eventually turned over to the settlers.
Fakhri Abu Diab, member of the Committee for the Defense of Silwan Land, said that Silwan is targeted by the religious settlement organizations because it is located just outside the gates to Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Old City.
He pointed out that 30% of the land of Silwan was seized to achieve the Israeli goal of expelling Jerusalemites from the city and to build settlement facilities that receive uned financial support from the Israeli government and Jewish organizations throughout the world.
Abu Diab told WAFA that dozens of families had recently received warnings to evacuate their homes in several areas in Silwan, especially in the Bustan area, which the settlements and government organizations are working to transform into a biblical park.
He urged Arab and Islamic countries to come to the aid of Silwan and Jerusalem to preserve their Arab and Islamic character.
M.K.
