Silwan: A silent war for Jerusalem’s soul
By Latifeh Abdellatif , Huthifa Fayyad for Middle East Eye
– – IMEMC News
▻https://imemc.org/article/silwan-a-silent-war-for-jerusalems-soul
Since the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem in 1967, Silwan has been the target of ongoing illegal Israeli settlement activity. Qutaiba Odeh is one of thousands of Palestinians in the ancient town fighting home demolitions and evictions to remain in their homes.
▻https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=220SdttKYnY&t=56s
Transcribed by IMEMC
Qutaiba Odeh: “We live in a silent war. It’s a war you don’t hear or see, but as Palestinians in Jerusalem, we live it around the clock. There is not a house in Silwan today that does not have a story or a hardship. Either they have someone in prison, someone wounded or martyred, a child or a young man detained, a house threatened with demolition by the [Israeli] municipality or facing eviction by [Israeli] settlers.
My name is Qutaiba Odeh, a resident of Silwan town. My dream is that our generation does not live the same Nakba our forefathers lived. I am a from a Palestinian family in Jerusalem living in Silwan. We are a family of 21 members living in three neighborhoods. In Silwan, we have three houses, two of them threatened with demolition and the other one threatened with eviction.
If we speak about Jerusalem, we speak about Silwan. Yabous (Jebusites), the first Canaanite tribe, started in Silwan. The origin of human settlement in Jerusalem started in Silwan. Silwan is the southern safeguard of the Old City and al-Aqsa Mosque. Palestinians here live in approximately 12 neighborhoods, 6 of these neighborhoods are threatened with forced displacement and ethnic cleansing. We are here today in al-Bustan neighborhood. The [Israeli] occupation municipality decided in 2004 to demolish this neighborhood and turn it into a biblical park.
They want to settle in Arab towns and neighborhoods in Jerusalem among the Palestinian population in East Jerusalem. they want to abolish the idea of Jerusalem being the capital of Palestine through these settlement projects here and there, so that in the future they’ll be the majority and we the minority. Settler organizations like Ateret Cohanim, Elad and the Jewish National Fund are very active here and have a lot of influence. They are the other face of the right-wing occupation government.” (...)