Land Research Center

A new collapse took place in Wadi Hilwa neighborhood in Silwan and is threatening the safety of 4 houses sheltering 6 families that consist of 31 people. The excavations are carried out by Alaad colonial group, encouraged by Israeli authorities and under the patronage of the Israeli Ministry of Antiquities. 

The collapse that took place on February 26, 2014  is 3-5 meters deep and more than 37 meters high and appeared as a result of the heavy machines carrying out nonstop excavations in a 400-meter tunnel connecting Silwan to the Western Wall and passing through the houses of Nihad and Jawad Siam, Hamed Bakhtan, and Mohammad at-Taweel.

If Siam's and at-Taweel's broke down due to the relentless excavations, they would threaten the house of Ghaith family in the north and Bakhtan's in the south. The collapse threatens the lives of 45 citizens including children and the elderly. 

More collapses are expected to occur due to:

Continuous excavations of the tunnel without paying any respect to the right to safety and secure residence.

Bad quality of the retaining walls constructed by the occupying municipality without any iron or cement reinforcing fitters and anchors. The municipality does not care about Palestinians' safety and international conventions that guarantee the wellbeing and safety of every human being. Some of the conventions are the Fourth Geneva Convention and article no. 36/15 issued on 28/10/1981 that asks Israel to immediately withhold any excavation work that might change the nature of the archaeological and cultural sites of Jerusalem.

One of the houses affected by the excavations