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Locals of Wadi Hilweh in Silwan object to the settlement project “Kedem”
January 5, 2014

The locals of the neighborhood of Wadi Hilweh in Silwan submitted a detailed objection through lawyer Sami Irsheed to the Jerusalem District Committee for Planning and Building to cancel the scheme submitted by” Elad settlement association” and the “Nature and Parks Authority” which aims at establishing a center for visitors and tourists as a gateway to the City of David settlement in Silwan. It is noteworthy that the Jerusalem District Committee for Planning and Building which falls under the Israeli Ministry of Interior had submitted the above mentioned project and recommended to ratify it. The project aims at building a huge building which will consist of 7 floors at the northern entrance of Silwan and next to the Old City on a 16000 square meters area and is only a few meters away from Dung Gate. Lawyer Sami Irsheed said that the Jerusalem municipality and local committee for planning and building have carried out serious and illegal violations in order to pass and ratify the scheme, and even the mayor of Jerusalem has personally requested the District Committee for Planning and Building to submit and ratify the scheme. The lawyer also pointed out that the municipality’s scheme was submitted despite the objection of the locals of the neighborhood of Wadi Hilweh who identified numerous problems in the municipality’s scheme especially that the submission of the scheme was illegally done. The lawyer mentioned that dozens of locals have given him a mandate to object on their behalf to the mentioned scheme and to do all the necessary and legal procedures to prevent the occurrence of such a project.