When Nir Barkat was elected as Mayor of Jerusalem, the city's secular residents heaved a sigh of relief because he was one of them and not an ultra-Orthodox fundamentlist.
However, he has proved to be a bit of a pyromaniac, by getting his city inspectors to ethnically cleanse some neighbourhoods of Palestinians who have lived in their homes for decades if not centuries.
Now he wants to build homes for settler tourists in Silwan, one of the poorest Palestinian neighbourhoods.
Barkat claims that the area has historical and archaeological significance. However, Israeli Antiquities' Authority maps prove there is no real archaeological reason to build a tourist park there. The plan is politically motivated with the goal of expanding tourism settlement in Silwan. It is noteworthy that the municipality appointed architect Arieh Rahamimov to draw the plan. He is the same architect who is working on a number of plans in Silwan for the settlers of the extremist Elad organization.
Furthermore, the chances of building alternative housing for the Palestinians in al-Bustan based on the proposed plan are slim to nonexistent, not to speak of the fact that the residents have not agreed to the plan.
Luckily, the indigenous residents have been given a bit of a respite, but no doubt the bulldozers will be brought in when Barkat and Netanyahu think one is looking.