Israel revives contested cable-car project in East Jerusalem, sparking new demolitions
Jerusalem authorities have restarted a long-delayed cable-car plan that will cut through Silwan, prompting demolition notices for Palestinian homes including that of Shadi.
Jerusalem’s Development Authority released a September 14 paper confirming the revival of a cable-car scheme originally unveiled in 2017 by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The line will stretch roughly 1.4 kilometres, supported by fifteen pillars up to 26 metres high, linking the Baka area in West Jerusalem with a new tourist complex being built by the Elad Foundation in Silwan, East Jerusalem. The route will cross the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane and end at the Kadem site in Silwan, an area claimed by Israel as part of the occupied East Jerusalem.
An engineering consultancy based in Bolzano, Ropes GmbH (registered in Italy as Ropes S.r.l.), was initially approached but announced in October that it is no longer involved. Palestinian families, including Shadi’s household in Wadi al-Rababa, have been served demolition notices, joining more than 60 other residents opposing the project since its inception. International and Israeli NGOs, as well as a coalition of architects and scholars, have challenged the plan in court and through public statements, arguing it seeks to reshape the historic landscape for political purposes.
Why it matters
The project could alter East Jerusalem’s demographics and heritage sites, intensifying Israeli-Palestinian tensions.
How the sides frame it
LOW AGREEMENTLeft-leaning coverage frames the story around the revival of a contested cable-car project linking West and East Jerusalem and its impact on Palestinian families, while centrist coverage frames it as on-the-ground demolition of Palestinian homes and rapid settlement expansion in the West Bank.
LEFT
Focuses on the contested cable-car revival, its route through holy sites, the involvement of the Elad Foundation, and the effect on Palestinian families.
CENTER
Highlights bulldozer demolitions of Palestinian structures, the proximity of new settler outposts, and describes settlement growth as unprecedented.
The left emphasises
- revives contested cable-car project
- linking Baka area with a new tourist complex built by the Elad Foundation
- Palestinian families, including Shadi’s household, are affected
How this story developed
- Oct 9 Nearly 20 settler attacks hit Palestinians across West Bank during olive harvest
- Oct 16 A settler was observed firing a gun during the latest assault.
- Oct 17 Heidi Levine was kicked, stripped of her equipment and hospitalized after being assaulted by roughly fifty young settlers.
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