Givat HaMatos was named after an airplane that crashed here during the 1967 Six-Day War.
Today, it may be the place where Palestinian hope of establishing a capital in Jerusalem falls apart.
Israeli authorities are releasing plans to build over 2,500 housing units and over 1,000 hotel rooms on the southern fringes of the city .
If the planned settlement goes ahead it would cut off Jerusalem's mainly Arab neighbourhoods from Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank.
That in turn would dash any Palestinian hope of establishing a coherent capital or an independent cohesive state.
Palestinian Khaled Natsheh, who was evicted from his home, says Israelis are stealing Palestinian homes to further Jewish expansion.
(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) KHALED NATSHEH, PALESTINIAN OWNER OF EVICTED HOUSE, SAYING:
"This neighbourhood had no marks or antiques indicating anything here was Jewish. But the settlers want to put their mark on all the Arab neighbourhoods."
Some 35 percent of Palestinian economic activity is centred on a line that stretches from Bethlehem through East Jerusalem and into Ramallah.
Opponents of Israel's policies say the southern settlements will snap this crucial link.
And as stalled peace talks go nowhere, Israeli settlements are proliferating.
Sarah Sheffer, Reuters
