Memorandum
The Systematic Reclassification and Planning Restrictions of Silwan
How reclassification, renaming and restrictive zoning have been used to partition a Palestinian neighbourhood in East Jerusalem
This memorandum analyses the administrative and planning mechanisms used by the Jerusalem Municipality and Israeli state ministries to fundamentally alter the identity and physical boundaries of the Silwan neighbourhood. Through a strategic combination of statistical reclassification, nomenclature shifts, and restrictive zoning — specifically Plans AM/9 and AM/6 — the area has been segmented. This division is designed to facilitate the expansion of the “City of David” archaeological and settler site at the direct expense of the historical Palestinian urban fabric.
Historical context and geographic integrity
Following the Six-Day War of 1967 and the Israeli occupation of East Jerusalem, the Jerusalem Municipality initially adopted the boundaries of Silwan as inherited from the Jordanian era. These encompassed the traditional built-up area stretching from the western borders of Jabal al-Mukabber toward the north, including the Al-Rahma Cemetery along the Old City’s eastern walls (see Maps 1 and 2).
- Statistical recognition. Historically, the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) designated this entire area as a single, unified statistical area. This designation acknowledged Silwan as a cohesive Palestinian entity for demographic tracking and socio-economic planning (see Map 4).
- Independent corroboration. Research by the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research confirms that the core built-up residential area — including the western sector and Baten al-Hawa — was universally recognised as a contiguous Palestinian urban fabric by planners and researchers until the recent administrative intervention.
- Integrity of the built environment. These research-based maps demonstrate that despite minor technical variations in perimeters, the residential core has remained functionally identical, contradicting the current official narrative of two separate neighbourhoods.
The mechanics of administrative partitioning
In recent years, a multi-agency operation has sought to codify a “new reality” on paper to facilitate expansion on the ground. This is achieved through three specific mapping and naming shifts:
- Municipal re-mapping. The Jerusalem Municipality now publishes maps on its official website that split the built-up fabric into two distinct sections: “Silwan” and the “City of David.” The area retaining the name Silwan has been reduced to approximately 51% of its original size (see Map 3).
- The 2022 statistical split. In 2022, the CBS formally partitioned the original unified statistical zone into two separate zones. This ensures that future data collection and resource allocation can be applied selectively to one side of the line (see Map 5).
- Boundary shrinkage and annexation. The northern tip of Silwan, containing the historic Al-Rahma Cemetery, has been administratively severed and attached to the Mount of Olives district. This isolates the neighbourhood from its traditional connection to the Old City walls and the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.
Schematic of the CBS statistical split, not to scale. See Maps 4 and 5.
Regulatory freezing: Plans AM/9 and AM/6
While mapping shifts erase the neighbourhood’s identity, the physical presence of Palestinian residents is frozen through a “dual-layer” regulatory framework.
Plan AM/9 (Old City Surroundings)
This plan covers the Old City and its immediate environs, specifically targeting the Wadi Hilweh and Sambuski Cemetery areas. By designating inhabited Palestinian land as an “Open Public Area” or “Green Space,” residential construction is strictly prohibited (see Map 6).
Under AM/9, existing homeowners are legally barred from renovating, expanding, or building new structures to meet natural population growth. Any minor alteration is labelled “illegal,” providing a permanent legal pretext for demolition orders.
Plan AM/6 (National Park Designation)
This plan complements AM/9 by officially designating these “open spaces” as National Parks. This shifts management from civil municipal planning to the Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA), imposing even more rigid restrictions (see Map 7).
In a highly unusual move, the INPA has delegated the daily management of these public lands to the Elad Foundation (Ir David Foundation) — allowing a private settler organisation with an explicit ideological agenda to manage archaeology and tourism within a densely populated Palestinian neighbourhood.
Legal and humanitarian implications: the “planning trap”
The convergence of these policies creates a systematic legal trap for the residents of Silwan:
- The impossibility of permits. Because the land is zoned as a “National Park,” the municipality refuses to issue building permits to Palestinian residents, rendering legal growth impossible.
- Forced informality and demolition. Residents are forced to build without permits to accommodate their needs. Authorities then use the Kaminitz Law (an amendment to the Planning and Building Law) to swiftly carry out demolitions, citing “illegal construction” in a protected park.
- Forced seizure. Simultaneously, the Absentees’ Property Law is used to transfer Palestinian homes to settler organisations. These organisations are often granted “special permits” for tourism infrastructure or residential units that are categorically denied to the local population.
The treatment of Silwan represents a multi-layered policy of Judaisation through planning. By manipulating statistical boundaries, renaming historical sites, and applying restrictive “green” zoning, the authorities have effectively fragmented the neighbourhood.
This process prioritises archaeological and ideological expansion over the basic human and civil rights of the local population to live and remain in their ancestral homes.
By framing displacement as “environmental preservation” or “archaeological protection,” the state has created a legal environment where the erasure of Palestinian identity is presented as a neutral planning necessity.
Appendix: the maps
The mapping and planning evidence cited above. Together, these maps illustrate the transition from a unified neighbourhood to a fragmented administrative zone controlled by restrictive zoning and settler-managed national parks.
Historical and independent baselines
The following two maps, from the Jerusalem Institute for Policy Research, establish the traditional, internationally and academically recognised boundaries of Silwan prior to the recent administrative interventions. Despite minor technical variations, they confirm that the core built-up residential area — including the area now rebranded as the “City of David” — was historically recognised as a single Palestinian entity, encompassing the eastern sector bordering Jabal al-Mukabber, the western sector (Wadi Hilweh / Baten al-Hawa), and the Al-Rahma Cemetery along the Old City’s eastern walls.
The mechanics of partition: official state mapping
The following maps from the Jerusalem Municipality and the Central Bureau of Statistics document the formal reclassification of the area.
The municipal neighbourhood map. Currently published on the Jerusalem Municipality’s website, this map formally divides the inhabited fabric of historical Silwan into two sections: “Silwan” and the “City of David.” It is the primary tool used to treat these contiguous residential areas as separate legal and urban entities.
The 2022 statistical partition. Historically, the CBS used a single, unified statistical area for all of Silwan. In 2022, this was formally split into two zones: one matching the “reduced” Silwan and the other matching the “City of David” boundaries. This “statistical engineering” allows for the selective reporting of demographic data.
Regulatory freezing and national park zoning
The following two maps represent the legal and planning trap, in which residential land is designated as public green or open space to prevent Palestinian development.
Plan AM/9 (The Old City Surroundings). This plan follows the new municipal division of Silwan, and designates the western part of Silwan and the area near the Old City walls as an “Open Public Area.” This zoning effectively freezes all Palestinian construction, as any renovation or expansion is labelled “illegal,” leading to demolition orders.
Plan AM/6 (Jerusalem Walls National Park). This plan overlays AM/9, officially designating the same residential areas as a National Park. It shifts land management to the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, which has delegated daily control to the Elad Foundation — a private settler organisation.
Published in March 2026 by the Arab Center for Alternative Planning — ac-ap.org.