Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology. Comments are in parentheses.

Archaeological Sites in Jerusalem and the West Bank, New Cheap Israeli Propaganda Ploy to Steal More Palestinian Lands

February 1, 2014

Editor's Note:

The following Reuters story shows an Israeli propaganda ploy, attempting to prove that Israelis have roots in the Holy Land of Palestine, when in fact most of them are descendants of converts to Judaism, who do not descend from Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their descendants.

The Palestinian Muslims and Christians have every right to claim Prophet David as theirs, following their Holy Books. Moreover, they are the true descendants of the Israelites, unlike the European and Central Asian Jews (Khazars), who have no roots in the Middle East, and do not belong to Abraham or his descendants.

So, claiming that an archaeological site here or there entitles them to steal more Palestinian lands is a cheap propaganda ploy, no more.

An archaeological site, called by illegal Israeli settlers as City of David, in the occupied Palestinian Arab city of Al-Quds (Jerusalem), Jan 2014.	An archaeological site, called by illegal Israeli settlers as City of David, in the occupied Palestinian Arab city of Al-Quds (Jerusalem), Jan 2014.

An archaeological site, called by illegal Israeli settlers as City of David, in the occupied Palestinian Arab city of Al-Quds (Jerusalem), Jan 2014.	An archaeological site in the occupied Palestinian Arab city of Al-Khalil (Hebron), Jan 2014.

An archaeological site in the occupied Palestinian Arab city of Al-Khalil (Hebron), Jan 2014. Illegal Israeli settlers would love to steal these sites as they have been stealing Palestinian lands.

Israeli settlers archaeology tourism plans

By Noah Browning

HEBRON, West Bank

Wed Jan 29, 2014, 2:53am EST

(Reuters) -

On an ancient hill dotted with 1,000-year-old olive trees, Israelis are busy excavating in search of the first palace of King David in the heart of the West Bank.

The (illegal Israeli) Jewish settlers who started the dig with the help of Israel's Antiquities Authority say they want to turn it into an archaeological park to celebrate its historical significance.

But for Palestinians who hope the West Bank will someday form part of a Palestinian state, the move is a grab not only for land but also for their past - a ploy to cut them out of history and away from land they say is rightfully theirs.

The Bible says David, the second king of the United Kingdom of Israel and Judah, first ruled in Hebron before conquering Jerusalem to the north.

"You come to see where King David started his first palace, it blows you away. I don't know, it blows me away!" said David Wilder, spokesman for the Jewish community in Hebron.

The dig, located on a plot of Jewish-owned land that is part of an island of 500 settlers among some 250,000 Palestinians, takes place under the protective eyes of Israeli soldiers toting automatic weapons.

Most countries consider the settlements Israel has built on land captured in the 1967 Middle East war as illegal, and Palestinians fear the enclaves will deny them a viable state made up of East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza.

The promotion of archaeological sites on this disputed land goes to the heart of the most explosive issues in Israel-Palestinian peace talks being brokered by Washington - building on occupied land, the status of Jerusalem and the future of Israel as a "Jewish state".

"I want people to visit Hebron and leave with the cultural and religious significance of the site to the Jewish people, the state of Israel and people around the world," Wilder said.

"You don't live in the past, but the past is an arrow showing where you've come from and where you can go to."

Shuaib al-Tamimi, a 22-year-old Palestinian watching the excavation from behind a new chain-link fence around the site next to his family home, voiced his contempt for the plan.

"Of course there are antiquities here, Roman antiquities. To say Solomon's palace or whatever was here is a conspiracy and a big lie," he said.

"They come and plant the stones here, just to serve their own interests and take away our rights."

"JUDAISING"

The first big marriage of settlement and archaeology tourism was the "City of David" theme park in occupied East Jerusalem, where densely packed Arab homes stand cheek-by-jowl with settler houses, surveillance cameras and private security guards.

Many of the (Palestinain) homes are subject to demolition as they were built without Israeli government permits, which can be difficult for Palestinians to obtain.

The City of David welcomes Israeli school children, soldiers and evangelical Christians, among others, to the purported location of another of David's palaces, which scholars believe is the Holy City's oldest inhabited area.

Israel cites such roots in laying its claim to all of Jerusalem, including the eastern area captured in 1967, and in designating the city its "eternal and indivisible capital".

Since January 12, Israel has started extending the area of the park with a new Israeli dig on its fringes, drawing the anger and frustration of Palestinians who lack the authority to do anything about it.

Demolition orders were also given to eight Palestinian structures in the same neighborhood, around a plot slated by Jerusalem's Israeli-run municipality for a Bible-themed park and shopping area called "The King's Garden".

Activist groups have gone to court to challenge the way the City of David is run - it is managed by the Israeli Parks Authority as a national park but operated by Elad.

"It was our claim that a private political and very right-wing organization misused these powers to advance its political agenda, part of which is to Judaise East Jerusalem," said Michael Sfard, an Israeli lawyer involved in the legal action.

The court threw out the petition, but the parks authority promised to review how the site is operated.

(Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Sonya Hepinstall)

(This is a propaganda campaign, which ignores that Palestinian Muslims and Christians also claim Prophet David as theirs too. Moreover, it's the Palestinian Muslims and Christians who are the true descendants of the Israelites, not European and Central Asian Jews (Khazars) who have no roots in the Middle East and do not belong to Abraham or his descendants).