Israel Quietly Waging War against Silwan

UPDATE: Israel’s Supreme Court has rejected appeals presented by three families in the Batn al-Hawa area of East Jerusalem's Silwan neighborhood, green-lighting the expulsion of 27 Palestinian residents from their homes. 

On June 16, 2025, the Israeli Supreme Court rejected the appeal presented by the Odeh and Shweiki families against their expulsion from their homes, instead ruling in favor of settler group Ateret Cohanim.1 Six days later, the court also rejected the appeal from the Umm Nasser Rajabi family, comprised of 18 members.2 With the court’s verdicts, the families now have 30 days to vacate their homes they’ve lived in for decades.

Approximately 700 Batn al-Hawa residents are at risk of expulsion because of expulsion lawsuits filed by Ateret Cohanim under Israel’s discriminatory Legal and Administrative Matters Law (1970), which allows alleged Jewish owners and their heirs to reclaim property lost during the 1948 War, despite being compensated for the lost assets at the time. Palestinians are not afforded the same opportunity to reclaim their homes in West Jerusalem. 

Ateret Cohanim has launched expulsion proceedings against the community of Batn al-Hawa since 2001 after the organization took over the Benvenisti Trust, an endowment meant to provide housing for: first, poor Jews in Jerusalem; second, Jews anywhere, and third, the poor regardless of their religious identity. Instead, human rights groups argue Ateret Cohanim has exploited its management of the trust to seize dozens of buildings in Batn al-Hawa, even turning one home into a cultural center for Yemenite Jews (see Israeli Justice Ministry Finds Trust a Front for Settler Group Expelling Palestinians). Thus far, as of June 2025, Ateret Cohanim has displaced 16 families from Batn al-Hawa.3

December 31, 2024: As people around the world say goodbye to 2024, in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan, many residents are saying goodbye to their homes.

On December 16, 2024, municipal bulldozers plowed through the al-Bustan section of Silwan and razed 9 homes—leaving 32 people, 15 of whom are minors—homeless just as Jerusalem’s rainy winter season kicks in.4

The month before, the municipality demolished al-Bustan’s community center along with 7 other homes—leaving approximately 35 residents on the streets.5

Four days before December’s demolition, Israeli police forcibly evicted the 16-member Palestinian Gheith family from their home in the Batn al-Hawa area of Silwan—officially transferring the property to Israeli settler group Ateret Cohanim.6

Against the backdrop of Israel’s relentless genocidal war on Gaza, demolitions in East Jerusalem have skyrocketed. According to Israeli human rights organizations Ir Amim and Bimkom, a record-breaking 255 structures were demolished in 2024—the highest number since the 1967 War, also known as the Naksa. Of these, 181 were residential homes, leaving 181 Palestinian families homeless.7

And 80 more homes are in the state’s crosshairs for imminent demolition.8

Silwan, and in particular the al-Bustan and Batn al-Hawa sections, has experienced the highest number of demolitions and the brunt of Israel’s expulsion campaign of Palestinian Jerusalemites. Many residents suspect this is because of Silwan’s proximity to the Old City of Jerusalem and the sacred al-Aqsa Mosque and the state’s determination to complete a ring of projects surrounding the Old City to ensure permanent control over it and sever it from the deeply rooted Muslim and Christian Palestinian communities who have long lived in the area. According to Israeli lawyer Daniel Seidemann, writing in 2022, “We are witnessing the incorporation of the historic, religious and cultural core of Jerusalem into a biblically interpreted Israel under the de facto authority of East Jerusalem. This is not just another ‘bad thing’ or ‘unhelpful unilateral step.’ We are witnessing a radical transformation of the very character of Jerusalem, in ways not seen before.”9

“Israel wants to distance us from al-Aqsa and occupy all of Silwan for the sake of settlement and to create a history for themselves that does not exist,” Abd al-Rahman, 24, a resident of the Batn al-Hawa section of Silwan and an activist in the community, told Jerusalem Story.10

According to Islamic scholar Sheikh Mazen Ahram, Silwan is of special importance to Muslims and Christians. Its spring, ‘Ayn Silwan or ‘Ayn Umm al-Daraj, has been an Islamic waqf endowment since the era of Caliph ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan. Christians call it “‘Ayn al-‘Adhra,” and it is associated with the miracle of Jesus, who, according to stories, restored the sight of a blind man after washing his face with its water.

This belief was then transferred to the local Islamic heritage, and many believe it was a blessed spring that could be used for healing.11

In late 2022, the Israeli authorities announced that ‘Ayn Silwan was a Jewish archaeological site, took over a five-dunum plot of land immediately adjacent to the historic Pool of Siloam in Silwan, and launched a project to excavate the historic pool. The initiative, a joint collaboration between the settler organization Elad, the Israel National Parks Authority (INPA), and the Antiquities Authority (IAA),12 is just one of many tentacles grasping at this area.

In al-Bustan, this distortion of history is acutely seen through the municipality’s plan to construct a Judeo-centric biblical theme park called the “King’s Garden” atop the rubble of Palestinian homes—claiming this area is where the Jewish King David built his kingdom around 1000 BCE. However, academics speaking to Jerusalem Story dispute this.

Dr. Yousef Natsheh, director of the Center for Jerusalem Studies at Al-Quds University, describes Silwan as “the nucleus of Jerusalem,” citing archaeological evidence revealing that Silwan was established in the second millennium BCE. These remains date back to before David’s era, nullifying Israeli claims that the city was established during his time.

“The Israeli narrative insists on calling the town of Silwan the City of David. In fact, we do not find this name in the Torah or in ancient writings, but rather it is a name whose aim is to rob the city of its ancient history,” Dr. Natsheh said.13 “The real name that we have received goes back to what was called in the Canaanite period, when it was given the name Jerusalem, and this is based on historical documents considering that Salem is the protector of the city and is the name of a Canaanite god.”

Dr. Zeidan Kafafi, a well-known archaeologist and former president of Yarmouk University in Irbid, Jordan, says that Silwan is being targeted to a large extent “because this area, in the Israelis’ opinion, is the first place where Jews settled in the region, so it has become a target for Israeli excavations in search of traces of the Kingdom of David and Solomon.”14

Kafafi argues that the Israelis initially tried to link the springs of “Umm al-Daraj” and “Silwan” with biblical stories, and now they are trying to confirm their story through archaeological discoveries to support the idea that this area is the City of David mentioned in the Torah (2 Samuel 5:9).

While obscuring Silwan’s heritage is one part of Israel’s strategy, residents and experts note that the ongoing war serves as a distraction for Israel to fulfill its goal of Judaizing Silwan.

“It’s corresponding with the result of the election that [Donald] Trump [won],” Yonatan Mizrachi from Israeli settlement watchdog, Peace Now, told Jerusalem Story.17 “Settlers believe that it will be much easier for them or much more accepted” to forcibly displace Palestinians from their homes.

Cohen agrees, noting that many of Trump’s nominees for government posts, such as Mike Huckabee, Trump’s choice for US ambassador to Israel, are staunchly pro-settler.

“[Trump’s] appointments of individuals that will have a lot of influence and say regarding foreign policy about Israel-Palestine. And so, there is a lot of alarm that it could lead again to just the complete erasure of this neighborhood,” Cohen told Jerusalem Story.

As Trump’s second term ushers in conditions more conducive to the Israeli settlement movement, Israel’s current government is also responsible.

“We have an extreme right-wing government and also ultra-right forces in the city council and in the city, who are putting pressure to make life as difficult as possible for the Palestinians and pave the way for more Israeli Jews to move into East Jerusalem,” Laura Wharton, a member of Jerusalem’s City Council, told Jerusalem Story.18

Referring to Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, whose role entails overseeing the police, Wharton added that these government officials are fanning the flames to implement their agenda.

“Under previous governments, [there was] an understanding that people are mostly just trying to live their lives there, and it’s not in anyone’s interest to increase the conflict,” Wharton said. “Whereas now we have a person with a criminal record in charge of the police who’s putting pressure to go in and bulldoze and use as much force as necessary to do whatever he wants, and that’s having an effect.”

Ultimately, what is happening in Silwan represents a larger Israeli policy playing out across the occupied Palestinian territories.

“The magnitude is far more horrendous in Gaza and the West Bank, but it’s all interconnected," Cohen said. “It’s bringing about the ‘de-Palestinization’ and the Israelization of the space, and this kind of imposition of Jewish dominance and Jewish supremacy.”