Palestinian business owners in occupied east Jerusalem are worried they will be forced to shut up shop by Israeli authorities over plans to build a vast high tech hub in their neighbourhood dubbed the Silicon Wadi. This is troubling for Palestinians as it comes in the wake of the Israel government’s plan to annex parts of West Bank; Israel has been increasingly cornering Palestinians, first by vastly reducing their territory and now by threatening their livelihoods. It seems as if Palestinians have nowhere left to go and no one to turn to, as their ambitions and rights to life and property are being bulldozed by their parasitic conjoined twin.
The main thoroughfare through the Wadi el-Joz area, close to Jerusalem’s Old City, is lined by mechanic workshops and usually hums with the sound of car horns.
200 east Jerusalem businesses to be demolished for ‘Silicon Wadi’ https://t.co/Tgq618pLEP
— Leonard Lloyd (@LLLloyd1) June 7, 2020
But business owners are facing an uncertain future, with fears that more than 200 premises could be forced to close including garages and popular restaurants as the Israel government starts work on plans for a new High-tech hub, known as Silicon Wadi.
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The Jerusalem municipality aims to create a “new high tech centre” that would “reduce social gaps and economic inequality in east Jerusalem,” according to city hall.
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The 2.1-billion shekel ($600 million) project has allocated 250,000 square metres (2.7 billion square feet) of land for the technology park. A further 50,000 square metres has been earmarked for other businesses, and the same amount for hotels.
In a video, the Jerusalem municipality extols the central location and the “potential” of Wadi al-Joz, which lies near major roads.
The project comes with a slogan: “Dreams become reality: Silicon Wadi.”
Silicon Wadi: Palestinians wont be offered an alternative location
Fathi al-Kurd, whose workshop opened in 1966, is worried that he and his two sons will not be offered another location.
“My son has four children, if he doesn’t work for a week his children will starve,” the 77-year-old said.
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“We can’t confront this (municipal) government, but we ask that they at least provide us with an alternative,” he added.
His son Muhannad al-Kurd, a car electrician, said a municipal official visited them last summer and warned “eviction is coming”.
East Jerusalem was occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War and later annexed in a move never recognised by the international community.
Silicon Wadi will force Palestinians to start from scratch
Several Palestinian families own land in the industrial zone of east Jerusalem, including Naif al-Kiswani who says they will inevitably be drawn into the Israeli project.
“I want to be compensated financially and given licences to build shops, businesses and flats,” he said, sitting inside his hardware store.
Kiswani confirmed that talks about the redevelopment were underway with Israeli officials, with a meeting planned soon between Palestinian landowners and Jerusalem’s deputy mayor.
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“The project exists and our refusal won’t change anything, but we must not lose everything,” he said.
Concerns over the redevelopment come as businesses are gradually reopening, after measures to tackle the novel coronavirus brought the city to a standstill.
Muhannad al-Kurd said his income fell by 70 percent in recent months and the new project could bring further financial losses.
“This eviction will make us start from scratch,” he said.
The chairman of east Jerusalem’s Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industry called the move a "racist order" to destroy the only Palestinian industrial area in east Jerusalem. https://t.co/mcC6iihFVL
— Palestine Deep Dive (@PDeepdive) June 2, 2020
The PLO has also condemned the plans for the establishment of the Silicon Wadi.
Palestinians to suffer huge losses in wake of project as mayor ploughs on
Wearing a face mask at the garage where he works, Khalil al-Hawash said the project aims to “empty the city of Palestinians”.
Standing in front of a sign for the garage in both Arabic and Hebrew, he wanted to know whether there would be compensation or help to relocate elsewhere.
Economist Mohammed Qirsh says if the business owners are expelled without financial redress the impact would be “devastating”.
City hall says the project will create 10,000 jobs in east Jerusalem and increase the employment rate among women.
It stands to “build confidence between residents of that part of the city, the city hall and the government,” the municipality said.
Some of those affected by the redevelopment plans aim to form a committee to challenge the decision.
Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion said the project constitutes a “real revolution and will create hope”.
The president of the Palestinian Chamber of Commerce in Jerusalem, Kamal Obidat, described it as a plan to “liquidate” parts of the city and “Judaise” them.
His work in Jerusalem and that of the Palestinian government is banned by Israel.
AFP with additional input by GVS News Desk