An Israeli archaeological initiative managed by the settler organization Elad, the acronym used for the Ir David (Hebrew for City of David) Foundation and the Israeli Nature and Parks Authority. The biblical tourism initiative is meant to promote Jewish heritage in Jerusalem’s Holy Basin through a series of dubious archaeological excavations that purportedly unearth the remains of King David’s first Israelite capital—hence supporting Jewish claims to ownership of the land.
The City of David tour, part of Israel’s heritage tourism industry, features underground tunnels, a biblical theme park, light shows, a suspension bridge, and a planned cable car to transport tourists through the city’s supposed Jewish sites. Building these tourist projects has entailed confiscating Palestinian land, demolishing Palestinian properties, and displacing Palestinians, especially in the area of Wadi Hilweh in Silwan. For years, Israeli and international archaeologists, historians, and civil society organizations have been dispelling these archaeological findings as falsified and unprovable, and working to protect the rights of Palestinian residents of Silwan, albeit often to no avail.