Elad Settlement Association closes the main gate of the “City of David” settlement and restricts the entry of Palestinian families
The Elad settlement association closed the main gate leading to the "City of David" settlement in the Wadi Hilweh neighborhood of Silwan, south of Al-Aqsa Mosque, on Tuesday evening.
The Wadi Hilweh Information Center in Jerusalem stated: "Three Palestinian families live inside this settlement outpost, and the closed gate is the only road leading to their homes. Its closure effectively means that the settlement administration imposes complete control over their movement in and out, threatening their daily lives and their basic rights to movement and access to their homes."
Elad claims that Palestinian children are playing in the settlement's outdoor yard, even though it is a shared space between settlers and Palestinian families.
The City of David settlement
The City of David settlement is located opposite the southern wall of Al-Aqsa Mosque and is directly administered by the Elad Association, which took control of the land between 1991 and 1992. Today, the settlement includes several outposts, a tunnel, a view of Silwan, a museum, and a cinema, all used to promote the biblical narrative.
The center stated: "The settlement has become a tourist center that attracts settlers and foreign visitors, offering visual and audio narratives based solely on the Jewish narrative, completely ignoring Silwan's Arab and Islamic history."
The information center explained that the Elad Settlement Association is a right-wing settler organization founded in the late 1980s and has been extensively active in Silwan, particularly in the Wadi Hilweh neighborhood, under the name "City of David." The association aims to Judaize the neighborhood by seizing Palestinian properties and implementing various settlement projects in the town.
