MORE ON THE ARCHAEOLOGY AND POLITICS of the City of David/Silwan from the AP:

The organization funding the digs, the Elad Foundation, is associated with the religious settlement movement and is committed to preventing Israel from ever ceding the area in a peace deal. It says it has a yearly budget of close to $10 million, nearly all of it from donations, and is buying up Palestinian homes in Silwan to accommodate Jewish families. Around 50 have moved in so far, living in houses flying Israeli flags and guarded by armed security men paid for by the Israeli government.

At the same time, the City of David digs have expanded through the neighborhood, carried out by respected Israeli government archaeologists with funding from Elad.
The site at the City of David is seen next to the Arab neighborhood of Silwan near Jerusalem’s Old City.

The site at the City of David is seen next to the Arab neighborhood of Silwan near Jerusalem’s Old City.

Fakhri Abu Diab, a neighborhood activist, said the Elad Foundation has made it clear that he and his neighbors are in the way.

“They want the land without the people,” he said.

None of the finds that the archaeologists highlight for the public are from the eras of Christian or Muslim rule. “They are looking only for Jewish ruins,” said Abu Diab. “It’s as if we’re not here.”

Elad denies having any intention of driving out Silwan’s Palestinians. “There will always be Jews and Arabs living together here,” said Doron Spielman, Elad’s international director of development. Dozens of Silwan Arabs are employed by Elad, he said, and the foundation’s activities include neighborhood beautification projects that improve life for Palestinian residents.

Still, he said, “We do not deny we have a Zionist dream — to reveal the ancient city beneath the ground and create a thriving Jewish neighborhood above the ground.”