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Unholy Row Over Religious Site Dig
By Sky News SkyNews - 30 minutes agoAn unholy row has erupted over efforts to excavate one of the world's most politically sensitive places.

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Silwan is a small hill outside Jerusalem thought to be the original site of the city, when it was built three thousand years ago.

It is a Palestinian neighbourhood but more Jewish settlers are moving in.

An Israeli Government report found false documents had been used to label Palestinian houses in Silwan as "absentee property", which allowed them to be seized.

As a result, Palestinians were thrown out of their homes and the Israeli Government began excavation work under Silwan.

Critics say the archeology at the site is being hijacked by Jewish settler groups trying to prove a Jewish connection to the site thousands of years ago.

The excavations have discovered tunnels that have remained undisturbed for 2,000 years.

But Palestinians say their homes and businesses are being damaged by the work which is causing the roads to crack.

Anger is growing between settlers and their claim over the land.

Rafi Greenberg, an Israeli archaeologist opposed to the digs, said: "Their religious ideology is rebuilding the third temple and establishing jewish hegemony over all of Jerusalem, and leaving the Palestinians as a tolerated minority."

Arik Asherman, who heads Rabbis for Human Rights, was jailed for a night this month after protesting against the settlers in Silwan.

"They want, through some legal means and some not-so-legal means, to do anything they can to expel Palestinians and that's their aim, and they even have recruited archaeology in an unholy alliance."