The struggle to establish facts in Jerusalem centers on the area of the "holy basin" -- the Old City and its environs -- where tens of thousands of Palestinian residents currently live. It is an area laden with religious, historic, national and cultural emotion, and therefore very sensitive during routine times and all the more so during negotiations over the holy basin itself.

The attempt to establish facts on the ground is carried out in several ways, one of the main of which (along with attempts to settle in Palestinian neighborhoods) is by converting public areas in the Palestinian space into Israeli-national areas and thereby restricting the Palestinian population in the area. This is done with the touristic-archaeological instrument: archaeological excavations and building national parks and gardens.

National parks:

Until 2001 there was a single national park in the area of the historic basin – the Jerusalem Walls National Park surrounding the walls of the Old City, which the government of Israel created in 1974. Since the outbreak of the second intifada a second national park was established (Emek Tzurim). In May 2009 it emerged that the government, in cooperation with the settler organizations, was attempting to surround the Old City with nine national parks, gardens, paths and sites, drastically changing the status quo in the city. The Jerusalem Development Authority was tasked with executing the secret plan.

The plan includes the Ben Hinnom Valley in the south, Mt. Zion, City of David/Silwan, Mt. of Olives, Jerusalem Walls, King's Valley, Zedekiah's Cave, Garden of the Tomb, Emek Tzurim, the Qidron Salient and Mt. Scopus, connecting at its end to the E1 area north of Maale Adumim. The intention is to create a territorial contiguity of Jewish historic sites and connect them to strategic settlements around Jerusalem such as the E1 area.

Establishing the national parks in East Jerusalem increases Israeli control of the area. As a result, this imposes additional restrictions on the possibility of Palestinian development because often these areas are the only land reserved for the Palestinian neighborhoods, and can no longer be built on after being declared a green zone. Furthermore, considering the fact that both the archaeological site of the City of David and the national park of Emek Tzurim are operated by the settlement organization Elad, there is concern that control of the future national parks will also be given to settlement organizations to promote a clearly political agenda in the area.

Archaeological excavations:

In addition to the development of the settlements and national parks in East Jerusalem, archaeological excavations have also become an important instrument in the struggle over control of the holy basin. Since 1967, all excavations in the Old City and its environs were initiated by the Israel Antiquities Authority or various universities. Following cuts in government budgets, private players entered the vacuum, especially the organizations that stand behind the establishment of the settlements in the Old City and its environs. The Elad organization, for example, which is active in settling many Jewish families in the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan, was employed as a subcontractor of the Israeli government to administer the archaeological site City of David (also located in Silwan). Elad developed the project and City of David (part of the Jerusalem Walls National Park) which is today one of the most toured historic sites in Jerusalem. Elad also initiated additional archaeological excavations in Silwan, including digging a tunnel that is supposed to connect the City of David with Temple Mount. These excavations often run under the homes of Palestinian residents without their knowledge, causing heavy damage to private and public property in the village.

As a result of these trends, the balance of control in the Old City and its environs is gradually changing. Settler groups are playing an increasingly important role in the administration and development of some of the most important sites in Jerusalem. This is all done with the overt or covert support of the government of Israel. This policy is threatening to turn the conflict from a controllable and resolvable national conflict into a hopeless and dangerous religious confrontation. "Handing over the keys" of an exceptionally sensitive area at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to extreme right-wing elements has the potential to cause a conflagration.