On Wednesday, The Israeli Knesset approved in Preliminary Reading a law that allows “nonprofit” and nongovernmental fundamentalist Israeli settler groups, especially the El Ad group, administrative power to run the so-called “National Gardens in David’s City”, in Silwan Palestinian neighborhood, in occupied East Jerusalem. El Ad is a fundamentalist extremist Jewish group that has the openly declared goal of ensuring that Jerusalem, all of Jerusalem, “remains a Jewish City” by forcing the Arabs out.
Several months ago, Knesset member Yoel Hason of the opposition Kadima Party in Israel, clearly stated that the aim of the project is to obstruct an initiative presented by Ir Amim Israeli group that calls for equal rights for both Israelis and Palestinians in Jerusalem.
Ir Amim said that El Ad fundamentalist was part of the planning for the new project due to its good connections with the Israeli minister of the government of Benjamin Netanyahu.
The project enables El Ad fundamentalist group, through its good connections with the current government in Israel, the Israeli Antiques Authority, the Authority of Nature and Gardens, the Ministry of Tourism and the Jerusalem Municipality, garnered itself a seat in all planning activities in addition to ensuring its share of allocated balances and donations.
The project is one of many projects Israel is pushing in order to annex most, if not all, of the Arab parts of occupied East Jerusalem, to fill them with ‘gardens’ and illegal settlements after forcing the indigenous Palestinian and Arab population out of their lands.
