As is almost always the case when the two sides quarrel over a patch of ground, it is known to them by different names. Palestinians call Silwan’s disputed part Al Bustan, or the Garden, evoking the fig and walnut groves for which it was once famous. Israeli authorities have been calling it the King’s Valley, in tribute to the biblical David. The shepherd boy-turned-warrior who ruled around 1000 B.C. is revered for helping unify the kingdom of Israel with his conquest of Jerusalem.
“This area is the cradle from which the City of David sprang,” said Uri Shetrit, Jerusalem’s director of planning, urban design and architecture, who has spearheaded the demolition drive. “Historically, this valley was an open space, a green space full of archeological treasures, and I consider it my professional duty to protect them.”
Shetrit described the area’s inhabitants as “squatters,” and some are migrants from the southern West Bank who are not legally allowed to live in Jerusalem. But others, including the Jalajel clan, trace their presence in Silwan to Ottoman times.
“I was born here, and my father and grandfather,” said Hashem Jalajel, who was dressed in a long white Arab tunic. The family has gone to court to challenge the demolition order, and the case has been continued until September.
“The Israeli judge told us, ‘You are not on trial here, but your house is,’ ” said Ahmed Jalajel, Hashem’s eldest son, whose home is targeted. “Who ever heard of such a thing?”
