A new row is rumbling in Jerusalem over the fate of dozens of Arab houses on land that may have been the gardens of biblical King David's capital and next to where Christians believe Jesus performed miracles. On one side are Palestinian residents of Bustan, a hamlet of about 80 homes. On the other are Israeli authorities who say some houses may face demolition because they were built illegally on land set aside for a park. Israeli archaeologists also want the ground cleared.
The debate cuts to the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and pits the task of preserving the ancient heritage of Jerusalem, holy to Jews, Muslims and Christians, against the need to house a growing Palestinian population.
"Oh Jerusalem, where will the more than a thousand residents of Bustan go?" reads a new protest banner strung across the street in the district beneath the walls of Jerusalem's Old City.
Many residents of Bustan say they have received demolition orders and are challenging them in court. Several have exhausted court challenges and their homes could now face demolition, community leaders say.
Home demolitions are sensitive in East Jerusalem, which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed as part of its "indivisible capital" in a move not recognised internationally.
Palestinians, who want East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state accuse Israel of carrying out demolitions for political reasons - complaining that it is almost impossible to get building permits from the authorities.
Israeli authorities, who razed nine buildings elsewhere in the city for parkland this month, said demolitions in Bustan were on hold for now and an original plan to demolish all the homes was no longer on the table.
They still hoped to reach agreement with residents before bulldozers moved in to demolish any buildings.
"It would not be responsible to say that all the houses would stay, but also not responsible to say that all would go," said Mordechai Lewy, an adviser to the mayor.
But Palestinian residents say they will not agree to any compromise that means the demolition of homes.
Meanwhile, Israeli archaeologists are keen for the land to be cleared. It lies atop what they believe were royal gardens at the foot of Kind David's capital. Nearby is the Siloam pool, where the New Testament says Jesus gave a blind man sight.
"We hope that somebody will help us in this fight to protect the area," said Yuval Baruch, Jerusalem District Archaeologist for the Israel Antiquities Authority.
"We just asked the municipality to do their job, not to allow people to build without permission... And if somebody does that, they have to take action to remove his house, not just in this area, but all over Israel."
Sami Ersheid, a lawyer representing many of the residents, dismissed the calls for preservation.
"Wherever any prophet touched his foot on the earth, do we have to preserve it until the end of this world?" he said.
Palestinians say they are worried that there will be a surge of demolitions in Jerusalem next month while local and international attention is focused on Israel's pullout from the Gaza Strip and a small corner of the West Bank.
A city spokesman said he had no information on future demolitions anywhere in the city.
Meir Margalit, an activist with the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, said thousands of homes in Jerusalem have outstanding demolition orders.
"I am very sad and my children are afraid for the future," said Fakhry Abu Diab, an accountant and father of five who built his house in 1993 on land he said his grandfather had owned and has received a demolition order.
"They ask me if they will demolish our house and I say that I don't know. They say: 'Will we sleep in the street?'. I have no answer. I tell them not to be afraid, but I am afraid."
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