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The City of David Visitor’s Center is ranked among the top five tourist attractions in Israel, growing from 25,000 visitors in 2001 to 350,000 visitors in 2008. Like other Palestinian neighborhoods, the barbed wire, security guards, and Israeli flags hanging from houses speak the true story, a story that archaeology is being used to cover up.

The Ir David settlement, which is being built alongside the archaeological sites, is located in the Palestinian village of Silwan.

Unlike most archaeological sites in Israel, which are funded and managed by the Israeli government, the City of David excavations in Silwan are the exclusive property of the ultra-right wing settler organization, the Elad Group.