Play audio 1XChange playback rate from 1 to 1 Mute audio In 2010, then-Mayor Nir Barkat announced a plan to build a tourist-targeted archaeological park called The King’s Garden in the al-Bustan neighborhood, located in the lower part of Silwan. The park was intended to blend in with tourist attractions in the City of David. However, the plan included the demolition of houses and the evacuation of dozens of Palestinian families who had built their houses in the neighborhood, on land they owned, but without obtaining building permits. When the plan was approved, it sparked fierce public and political furor, leading to international protests against city hall and to the resignation of Meretz members of the municipal council.