Silwan besieged: Israel targets community spaces for settlement expansion

In 1948, Hilweh Siyam, a woman in her 40s, was killed by a Zionist sniper in northern Silwan town in occupied East Jerusalem. Since then, the neighbourhood has been known as Wadi Hilweh, meaning "Hilweh Valley".

Since then, Israel has expanded illegal Jewish settlements in Silwan, and more so over recent years, specifically targeting certain families, communal spaces, and community leaders.

Today, the residents of Wadi Hilweh, including Hilweh Siyam's grandchildren, still continue to resist the brutal occupation.

One of her grandchildren, Jawad Siyam, established the Wadi Hilweh Information Center in 2009 to nurture a sense of belonging in the local community, and particularly for the youth to hold onto their history.

He believes occupation can only start to flourish if Palestinian youth forget their land and heritage.

The Wadi Hilweh Information Center now faces a demolition threat by the Israeli occupation, citing unlicensed construction. However, this claim is unfounded as the building was constructed before 1967 when Israel annexed East Jerusalem.

This is not the first time Jawad, the centre's director, and the Silwan community have faced demolition threats with baseless reasons, and he remains committed not to abandon the place.

"They can destroy the place, but they cannot destroy the idea. The idea remains with me, and I will continue working as long as I exist," he tells TRT World.

'Quiet deportation'

Most Palestinians living in occupied East Jerusalem have not obtained Israeli citizenship and were instead compelled to become "permanent residents" after Israel's unilateral annexation of the city.

However, even this permanent residency status can expire if they are unable to pay burdensome taxes such as the "arnona," a municipal tax imposed on Palestinians residing in areas under Israeli control, which Israeli authorities define as essential for "maintaining a connection to the city".

Between 1967 and 2022, Israel revoked the residency status of 14,808 Palestinians from East Jerusalem, according to figures from the Interior Ministry published by the human rights group Hamoked, which has termed it a "quiet deportation" policy.

If residency is not revoked, authorities typically declare targeted houses illegal and force Palestinian owners either to demolish them themselves by set deadlines or or pay to have Israeli bulldozers crush their homes

This situation is particularly prevalent in occupied East Jerusalem's Silwan area, located adjacent to the southern wall of the Al Aqsa compound.

Despite having some of the highest arnona taxes, Palestinian taxpayers in Silwan say they receive almost no services and are deprived of basic rights such as adequate parking and reliable water sources.

Community on target

On the same day Jawad Siyam established the Wadi Hilweh Information Center in 2009, Israeli authorities issued a demolition order for the building. The order remained frozen for a decade, before being renewed in 2019.

“Over the course of those 10 years, the centre was frequently raided, team members were arrested, including myself on multiple occasions, and I faced constant pressure and exorbitant taxes,” Jawad says.

He pays approximately 25,000 Israeli shekels for the tax annually, which is over $6,700.

At the beginning of this year, the municipality filed charges against Jawad, accusing him of “using a building without a licence in an area where construction is prohibited.” Last week, the final hearing was held, and the demolition order was issued.

"During the hearings, the discussions did not focus on the structure itself or the building permit. Instead, they discussed the activities conducted inside the building," Jawad says, highlighting that the order primarily targets the local communal unity and not just the building.

"They gave me one year to demolish it myself. However, I have informed them that I will not do it. They can come and demolish it at any time. In such a scenario, I would be required to cover the demolition costs, which could range from 60,000 to 200,o00 shekels, depending on the scale of the destruction."

Since September 13, 1993, when the Oslo Agreement was signed, until the end of 2022, Israel demolished 2,787 structures in East Jerusalem, including 213 funded by international donors, human rights groups Word Council of Churches (WCC) reported.

Demolitions in East Jerusalem reached a peak last year with 229 structures demolished, the highest since 2009. And as of this year, 102 Palestinian structures have already been demolished, according to data by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Recording the occupation

The community hub that Jawad runs, operates out of a single room spanning approximately 35 square metres.

It’s here where various support services are offered, like legal representation for Palestinian minors detained in Israeli jails, educational programs for children and youth to raise awareness about the city's history, destroyed villages, and Palestinian lands, as well as the history of occupation are some of them. It also offers financial support to thousands of locals in need.

One of its most crucial roles actually lies in documenting everyday violations of basic rights in their local area.

For instance, the centre's website has a daily journal documenting events in East Jerusalem since October 7, detailing daily incidents of violence perpetrated by Israeli forces and settlers across the city.

Jawad explains that they do this because of the insufficient media coverage of everyday life in East Jerusalem, adding that they face violations in every aspect of their daily lives, which need to be meticulously documented and globally reported.

"When we want to park our cars, there's nowhere to park freely, and we need to pay for tickets.”

Jawad also says Palestinians have to pay four times more for a litre of water than Israelis do.

He adds that despite little coverage on these by the mainstream media, there is strong international solidarity with the centre since it is the only place that provides detailed information about East Jerusalem.

The bigger plan

Bayan Abbasi, who works as a project manager at Madaa Creative Centre, an organisation under Wadi Hilweh Information Centre, says that the demolition order targeting the centre is neither the first nor the last to directly affect community spaces in Silwan.

In 2012, they established Women Cultural Cafe, a project designed for neighbourhood women to gather, create crafts, cook, and sell their products.

However, just two days after its opening, Israeli bulldozers arrived and demolished it.

Bayan believes that the deliberate targeting of community spaces in the area is a deterrence policy aimed at pressuring Palestinians to sell their properties for huge sums of money and leave the land.

"Anyone in Silwan can become a millionaire," says Jawad. "Even in a single room or square metre, you could be offered millions, like the $18 million they offered for my house."

“But all of us are aware of the underlying plan here."

The private settler organisation known as Elad, which stands for “To the City of David” in Hebrew, is mainly responsible for the occupation of Silwan. Founded in 1986, Elad has been trying to purchase properties in East Jerusalem through shadow groups, thus expanding the occupation.

In 2019, the same settler group forcibly evicted Jawad's brother's family from their homes in Silwan. Just two days after the settlers expelled the family, the Jerusalem District Court sided with Elad, granting them ownership of most of the Siyam family's property, including the apartment, a store, and a courtyard.

The family's appeal against the eviction was swiftly dismissed by the Israeli court, and Jawad himself was arrested during the eviction of his brother’s home.

Gift from God

"When I was younger, as a little kid, I spent a lot of time playing on the street. We used to have all these simple joys of life. We don't have that anymore. If I had a kid, I wouldn't let them play on the street. He wouldn't get to experience that," 32-year-old Bayan tells TRT World.

"We try to offer locals a glimmer of hope, but they refuse to let us even enjoy that small bit of hope … Settlers are everywhere, and this has become our daily reality," she says.

But despite everything, she refuses to leave her home. Instead, she initiates projects to teach the kids how to love the neighbourhood.

Both Bayan and Jawad believe that they are gifted by God to be born in the neighbourhood they live, among all the struggles.

"We should cherish this gift and strive to work to preserve it," Bayan says.

“Of course, it's very painful, very terrible. But I am grateful that God has placed me here, and given me a better condition to be closer to Him,” Jawad adds.

“It is our duty to struggle and stand at the forefront. I will fight until I die, and my son and daughter will continue the fight after me. This is our cycle.”