Settler Group Plans 122-Unit Settlement in East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah

The settler organization Amana is planning to establish a new settlement of 122 housing units in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem, according to a disclosure by the Ir Amim association. This marks the first time Amana, known for its extensive settlement activities in the West Bank, is pushing a project within Jerusalem.

The plan, designated number 1602689, targets the historic Shepherd Hotel site, covering approximately 5.8 dunams. It envisions residential buildings up to 12 stories high, containing the 122 settlement units. The plan is still in its early stages and has not yet been presented to the Jerusalem Local Planning and Building Committee, with a preliminary session scheduled for November 11, 2026.

Amana is described as one of the most powerful Israeli settler organizations, receiving government funding and close cooperation from Israeli authorities. Its head, Ze'ev Hever, also known as "Zambish," is a former member of a clandestine Jewish terrorist organization. Amana is a primary funder and planner of so-called "outposts" in the West Bank, which Ir Amim states have seized about a million dunams of Area C land, displacing Palestinian farmers and herders.

The Shepherd Hotel site was originally owned by the Palestinian al-Husseini family before being confiscated by Israeli authorities under the "Absentees' Property Law" and later transferred to the Ateret Cohanim settler association. Ateret Cohanim previously built a residential complex next to the hotel, which has remained vacant. The new plan would demolish existing structures to make way for the larger settlement project, while preserving the historic hotel building.

Recent years have seen efforts to settle land ownership at the site, with parts registered to the "Absentees' Property Custodian" and others to a foreign company believed to be linked to Ateret Cohanim. The transfer of development responsibility from Ateret Cohanim to Amana is unclear. The plan was submitted by Eliyahu Menachem Hershhorn on behalf of Amana.

Aviv Tatersky of Ir Amim stated that Amana's plan joins a series of projects by Israeli government bodies, including the Ministry of Construction and Housing and the Jerusalem Development Authority, to build thousands of settlement units instead of addressing the needs of Palestinian residents in Sheikh Jarrah. He characterized these plans as part of a systematic Israeli effort to transform Sheikh Jarrah from a Palestinian neighborhood into an Israeli settlement, following successful efforts by residents to defend their homes against forced evictions.