An Israeli suspension bridge stretching 202 meters (663 feet) was recently inaugurated above Palestinian agricultural lands, starting from the Silwan neighborhood and passing over Wadi Al-Rababa south of Al-Aqsa.

Besides restricting the movement of the Palestinian residents of Silwan and facilitating the access of settlers from the western part of occupied Jerusalem to the neighborhoods of the old town, another hidden goal for building the bridge is to alter the landscape south of Al-Aqsa and seize lands in the Wadi Al-Rababa area.

The Israeli municipality approved the project in 2020 after rejecting all the petitions submitted by the Palestinian owners of the lands and Israeli left-wing Peace Now, Emek Shaveh and Bimkom not-for-profit organizations.

To build the bridge, Israeli forces seized thousands of acres of Palestinian lands planted with ancient trees in Wadi al-Rababa and prevented its residents from accessing their lands or planting them. The Israeli-run Jerusalem municipality, the Nature and Parks Authority, and the settler organization Elad, also known in Hebrew as Ir David, have all teamed up to deliver the project.

The suspension bridge project cost an estimated $5.6 million, took approximately nine months to be completed and was funded by Israel’s Ministry of Tourism, Jerusalem Municipality, the Ministry for Jerusalem Affairs, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, and the City of David.

"For the benefit of Israeli citizens and visitors from abroad, we built the bridge, with spectacular views, to upgrade the tourist experience in the area," Israeli Tourism Minister Haim Katz said at the unveiling ceremony, adding that Israel "will continue to invest in promoting Jerusalem as a leading tourist destination."

Jerusalem Affairs Minister Ze’ev Elkin said that the project was part of a wider initiative to turn the pastoral valley into a tourist venue that would strengthen the sense of "security and governance" in the area and help access to the Old City.

Elad's agenda

The suspended bridge joins a growing list of other facilities in the valley advanced by the right-wing foundation, which works to increase the Jewish presence in and around Jerusalem’s Old City basin.

The Elad settlement association received 28 million shekels, or roughly $7.9 million, to support Judaization projects in the Wadi Rababah neighborhood in Silwan town, south of Al-Aqsa Mosque, according to the daily Haaretz.

The Hebrew newspaper revealed that the Elad settlement association has established public parks and agricultural projects, and developed a new tourism hub at the expense of the original owners of the land, stripping their rights and preventing the Palestinian geographical expansion in Silwan.

According to the paper, the settlement project run by Elad is supported by several Israeli institutions, including the Jerusalem Municipality, Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority, the Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Ministry, and the Jerusalem Development Authority.

The Elad association, which is considered the spearhead of the illegal settlement in Jerusalem, revealed a project in Silwan called "Farm in the Valley" to attract thousands of settlers to the occupied city of Jerusalem, as part of the so-called "national park," which was established on Palestinian land.

According to Haaretz, the Elad group pursues the declared objective of "Judaizing" East Jerusalem, including Silwan, as part of its mission to expand Jewish presence across the occupied city and to uproot the indigenous Palestinian population under the guise of archaeological and touristic endeavors.

Elad is considered one of the wealthiest nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the entity. It supervises about 70 settlement outposts in Silwan, most of which are located in the Wadi Hilweh area, which is the closest area to Al-Aqsa, and funds the Israeli excavations in the area.

Silwan has been the focus of ultranationalist religious groups as the Elad settlers, who often determine policies both at the city level and above.

Around 30,000 Palestinians live in Silwan and around 500 Jewish settlers also live there in different buildings acquired mostly in dubious deals and with government aid.

The coexistence of these two groups in the neighborhood has been marked by tensions, as settlers acquire properties through contentious means. The settlement projects and policies pursued by these settlers are often met with resistance from Palestinian residents and international observers.

Inside the neighborhood of Silwan abutting the City of David site, the foundation is one of several groups that have obtained homes to settle dozens of Jewish families, who live under heavy security among their Palestinian neighbors.

Moreover, the settlers of the Elad foundation plan to take over the green spaces cultivated by the Palestinians of Silwan and Abu Tor for generations in order to create a "biblical Disneyland" to obscure "processes of displacement."

Elad publicly states its aim of settling Jews in Palestinian areas in occupied east Jerusalem to strengthen "the Jewish connection to Jerusalem."

The settler organization currently operates one of East Jerusalem's politically sensitive sites, the City of David archaeological site, which is located inside the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan near the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Besides the bridge, the Jerusalem municipality has plans to establish a "biblical" park in the al-Bustan neighborhood below the "City of David" archaeological park. The renaming of this area as "Gan Hamelekh" ("King’s Garden") has ignited controversy, as critics argue it is an attempt to erase Palestinian heritage and create a narrative that aligns with the settler agenda

Last year, during the olive harvest, the Israeli police intervened to disperse Palestinians attempting to gather olives in a fenced area and demolition orders for Palestinian homes were issued to fulfill that vision.

Israeli authorities have confiscated roughly one-third of the Palestinian land occupied since 1967 to build settlements, despite them being considered illegal under international law.

Over 100,000 Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem are currently at risk of displacement, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

All these projects are part of the larger strategy to establish a continuum of biblically themed tourism ventures and Jewish residential settlements in the Silwan-Hinnom Valley area using a variety of legal and administrative mechanisms to displace Palestinians from their homes, shrink their public spaces and downplay their heritage.

The inauguration of the bridge clearly highlights the broad agenda of these groups and their impact on local policies, particularly those related to urban development and heritage preservation.