and his purchase of properties in East Jerusalem. The Everest Foundation owns a number of properties in East Jerusalem, valued at $12 million, and now also owns the Swedish company that controls the church compound. Moskowitz is also responsible for the Irving Moskowitz Foundation, a tax-exempt organization that transmits money to other ostensibly charitable groups such as Friends of Ir David, which then subsidize organizations which purchase Arab-owned property and land for the purpose of settlement. One example of an organization indirectly funded by the Irving Moskowitz foundation is Elad – the group responsible for the purchase of 25 housing units in Silwan, East Jerusalem, and the subsequent take-over by settlers in September 2014 – to whom Friends of Ir David donated almost its entire revenue in 2011and 2012.

Israeli Policy

Despite the fact that this acquisition of the Beit al-Baraka land by settler groups took place in secret, without the knowledge of the IDF or the Israeli government, it is highly likely that pro-settlement politicians will exert pressure to enable the new residents to stay. There is a strong historical precedent of the Israeli state legalising outposts that have initially been marked as unauthorised, resulting in a de facto policy of support.

In the case of Beit al-Baraka, the true identity of the owner and the intended plans for the site had, until now, been kept well hidden. The Palestinian family from Arroub camp who live and work on the compound were unaware of the developments. Some residents of the surrounding area did express concerns regarding Israeli