Palestinians sit among billboards promoting park space on land widely seen as the ancient capital of the biblical King David.

By ETHAN BRONNER and ISABEL KERSHNER


JERUSALEM - Israel is quietly carrying out a $100 million, multiyear development plan in some of the most significant religious and national heritage sites just outside the walled Old City here as part of an effort to strengthen the status of Jerusalem as its capital.

The plan, parts of which have been outsourced to a private group that is simultaneously buying up Palestinian property for Jewish settlement in East Jerusalem, has drawn almost no public or international scrutiny. However, certain elements related to it - the threatened destruction of unauthorized Palestinian housing in the redevelopment areas, for example - have brought widespread condemnation.

“Everything Israel does now will be highly contentious, said Robert H. Serry, the United Nations special Middle East coordinator, on a recent tour of East Jerusalem. He warned the Israeli authorities“not to take actions that could pour oil on the fire.

As part of the plan, garbage dumps and wastelands are being cleared and turned into lush gardens and parks, now already accessible to visitors who can walk along new footpaths and take in the majestic views, along with new signs and displays that point out significant points of Jewish history.

The parts of the city that are being developed were captured in the 1967 Middle East war, but their annexation by Israel was never recognized abroad.

At the same time, there is a battle for historical legitimacy.

As part of the effort, archaeologists are finding indisputable evidence of ancient Jewish life here. Yet Palestinian officials and institutions tend to dismiss the finds as part of an effort to build a Zionist history here.

The holy basin is dotted with shines of the three major monotheistic religions.

The government development plan was first agreed upon in 2005 “to strengthen the status of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, as it states in its opening line, and became operational in the past year, with the prime minister’s office and the municipality jointly responsible.

But no one in either office or from the private group, known as Ir David, or City of David, agreed to be interviewed over weeks of requests, reflecting the delicacy of the matter. Some written responses were provided.

Those responses say that the improvement of the holy basin is for everyone’s benefit - Jews, Muslims and Christians - since it involves restoration that will draw more visitors to an area of exceptional global interest that has long suffered neglect.

The answers also made clear that Israel has no plans to negotiate yielding the area.

As an official in the prime minister’s office put it:“Jerusalem has been the eternal capital of the Jewish people for some 3,000 years and will remain the united capital of the State of Israel. Under Israeli sovereignty, for the first time in the history of Jerusalem, the different religious communities have enjoyed freedom of worship and the holy sites of all faiths have been protected.

He continued:“The government will continue to develop Jerusalem, development that will benefit all of Jerusalem’s diverse population and respect the different faiths and communities that together make Jerusalem such a special city.

Daniel Seidemann, the founder of Ir Amim, or City of Nations, an Israeli association dedicated to sharing Jerusalem, noted that strategically located Palestinian properties bought by Ir David and other settler groups were to be linked by the new state parks, creating a belt around the Old City that will make it harder than ever to divide Jerusalem as part of a two-state solution.

He said“the DNA of the settler organizations is informing government decisions while“government powers are being handed over to the settler organizations.

Professor Benjamin Kedar, chairman of the Israel Antiquities Authority, acknowledged in a letter to fellow archaeologists that Ir David was“an association with a pronounced ideological agenda and “has presented the history of the City of David in a biased manner.

He said the antiquities authority was seeking changes.

But the work itself, he said, is unassailable and supervised by top professionals and scholars.

Hagit Ofran of Peace Now, a leftist Israeli group that opposes Jewish settlement in Palestinian areas and supports a two-state solution, contended that the plan aimed to create“an ideological tourist park that will determine Jewish dominance in the area.