Israel is developing archaeological and tourism sites to legitimise illegal settlements in Palestinian neighbourhoods of Jerusalem.
According to a leaked report, there are projects in parts of East Jerusalem – occupied by Israel since 1967 – which are being used “as a political tool to modify the historical narrative and to support, legitimise and expand settlements”.
“East Jerusalem is the only place where Israeli national parks are declared on populated neighbourhoods,” the report said.
The document presented a bleak picture, and said that the overall situation in the city and peace prospects had worsened.
A record number of Israeli settlement proposals and physical isolation of Palestinians under a strict Israeli permit scheme meant “the city has largely ceased to be the Palestinian economic, urban and commercial centre it used to be”.
The report said that City of David, a government-funded archeological park in the Palestinian neighbourhood of Silwan provides tours in the ruins of ancient Jerusalem. The site is operated by a settler organisation “promoting an exclusively Jewish narrative, while detaching the place from its Palestinian surroundings”.
Approximately 450 settlers live under heavy protection in Silwan, the report said, together with almost 10,000 Palestinians. Evictions of Palestinian families and the increased Israeli security presence have created a particular tension.
“Critics have described the project as turning the World Heritage site of Jerusalem into a commercial theme park while local Palestinian residents are absent from the narrative being promoted to the visitors,” the report said.
